Ex  Libris 
C.  K.  OGDE 


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LIBRIS 


A.G. POTTER 


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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 
LOS  ANGELES 


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,^PO}.t!/ M.  Walter Di^ 


A// 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


FACING 
PAGE 

The  Tomb  of  Omar Frontzspzece 

From  an  old  painting  by  an  unknown  artist. 

The  Approach  to  Naishapur loo 

From  a  painting  by  I.  R.  Herbert. 

Sufi  Mystics  Gathered  for  Meditation 210 

From  an  old  painting  by  a  Pushtu  artist. 

(vii) 


-f  C^otrotrfr' 


TABLE   OF  CONTENTS 


PAGE 

General  Introduction xi 

Introduction   to   the  First  Edition  of  Edward  Fitzgerald's 

Translation  of  the  Quatrains  of  Omar  Khayyam      .  i 

The  Complete  Fitzgerald  First  Edition 13 

Kuza-Nama 25 

Notes 29 

g  §  0  An    Analysis    of    Edward    Fitzgerald's    Translation    (Fifth 

Edition),  by  Edward  Heron-Allen      .     .     .     .    -v     .     .  35 

Preface 37 

Explanation  of  References 43 

Analysis  of  Edward  Fitzgerald's  Quatrains 44 

Appendix 107 

Variations  Between  the  Second,  Third  and  Fourth  Editions 

of  Fitzgerald's  Translation 115 

Stanzas  Which  Appear  in  the  Second  Edition  Only      ...  122 
Comparative   Table    of    Stanzas    in    the    Four    Editions    of 

Fitzgerald     ....          124 

Note 127 

The    Quatrains    of    Omar    Khayyam    Translated    by    E.    H. 

Whinfield,  M.  a 129 

Introduction 131 

Note 139 

E.   H.  Whinfield  Translation 141 

The   Quatrains    of   Omar   Khayyam    Translated   into    Prose 

from  the  French  Version  of  Monsieur  J.  B.  Nicolas  .  267 

Preface 269 

Translation  of  the  Nicolas  Text 279 

(ix) 


GENERAL    INTRODUCTION 

THE  earliest  reference    to    Omar    Khayyam    dates    from 
the    middle  of    the    seventh    century  of    the  Hijra.* 
Mohammad  Shahrazuri,   author   of   a   little-used  his- 
tory   of    learned    men,   bearing    the    title    of    "  Nazhet-ul- 
Arwah,^^  devotes  to  Khayyam  the  following  passage: 

^^  'Omar  Al-Khayyami  was  a  Nishapuri  by  birth  and  ex- 
traction. He  [may  be  regarded  as]  the  successor  of  Abu 
'Ali  (Avicenna)  in  the  various  branches  of  philosophic 
learning;  but  he  was  a  man  of  reserved  character  and 
disliked  entei-taining  {sayyik  al- atari).  While  he  was  in 
Ispahan  he  perused  a  certain  book  seven  times  and  then 
he  knew  it  by  heart.  On  his  return  to  Nishapur  he  dic- 
tated it  [from  memory]  and  on  comparing  it  with  the  origi- 
nal copy,  it  was  found  that  the  difference  between  them 
was  but  slight.  He  was  averse  both  to  composition  and 
to  teaching.  He  is  the  author  of  a  handbook  on  natural 
cscience,  and  of  two  pamphlets,  one  entitled  ^Al-Wujud^ 
(or  ^  Real  Existence  ^)  and  the  other  ^Al-Katvn  w'al  Tak- 
lif.^\  He  was  learned  in  the  law,  in  classical  Arabic,  and 
in  history. 

*^  One  day  Al-Khayyami  went  to  see  the  Vezir,  Abd-ur- 
Razzak,  the  Chief  of  the  Koran  Readers.  Abu-1-Hasan 
Al-Ghazzali  was  with  this  latter  [at  the  time],  and  the 
two  were  discussing  the  disagreement  of  the  Koran 
Readers  in  regard  to  a  certain  verse.  [As  Omar  entered] 
the  Vezir  said,  ^  Here  we  have  the  authority,'  and  pro- 
ceeded to  ask  Al-Khayyami  [for  his  opinion]  on  the  mat- 
ter. ['Omar]  enumerated  the  various  readings  of  the 
Readers,   and  explained  the  grounds  ['Hal)  for  each  one. 

*  About  1272  A.  D. 

f  This  title  is  hard  to  determine  without  any  acquaintance  with 
the  contents  of  the  pamphlet. 

(xi) 


xii  GENERAL   INTRODUCTION 

He  also  mentioned  the  exceptional  readings  and  the  ar- 
guments in  favor  of  each,  and  expressed  his  preference 
for  one  view  in  particular. 

"Al-Ghazzali  then  said:  ^  May  God  add  such  men  as 
thee  to  the  number  of  the  learned!  Of  a  truth,  I  did 
not  think  any  one  of  the  Koran  Readers  knew  the  read- 
ings by  heart  to  this  extent  —  much  less  one  of  the  sec- 
ular philosophers.^ 

"As  for  the  sciences,  he  had  mastered  both  mathe- 
matics and  philosophy.  One  day  *■  the  Proof  of  Islam,  ^  Al- 
Ghazzali,  came  to  see  him  and  asked  him  how  it  cam^ 
that  one  could  distinguish  one  of  the  parts  of  the 
sphere  which  revolve  on  the  axis  from  the  rest,  although 
the  sphere  was  siinilar  in  all  its  parts.  Al-Khayyami  pro- 
nounced his  views,  beginning  with  a  certain  category; 
but  he  refrained  from  entering  deeply  into  the  discussion 
— and  such  was  the  wont  of  this  respected  Sheykh. 
[Their  conversation  was  interrupted  by]  the  call  to  mid- 
day prayer,  whereupon  Al-Ghazzali  said,  *  Truth  has  come 
in,  and  lying  has  gone  out.*  'Omar  arose  and  went  to 
visit  Sultan  Sanjar.  The  latter  was  [at  the  time]  a  mere 
child,  and  was  suffering  from  an  attack  of  smallpox. 
When  he  came  away  the  Vezir  asked  him,  *  How  did 
you  find  the  child,  and  what  did  you  prescribe  for  him  ?  * 
'Omar  answered,  *The  child  is  in  a  most  precarious 
state.*  An  Ethiopian  slave  reported  this  saying  to  the 
Sultan,  and  when  the  Sultan  recovered  he  became  inimi- 
cal to  'Omar  and  did  not  like  him.  Melik-Shah  treated 
him  as  a  boon  companion;  and  Shams-ul-i^.Iulk  honored 
him  greatly,  and  made  him  sit  beside  him  on  his  throne. 

"  It  is  related  that  ['Omar]  was  [one  day]  picking  his 
teeth  with  a  toothpick  of  gold,  and  was  studying  the 
chapter  on  metaphysics  from  [Avicenna's]  *  Book  of  Heal- 
ing. *  When  he  reached  the  section  on  *The  One  and 
the  Many*  he  placed  the  toothpick  between  the  two 
leaves,  arose,  performed  his  prayers  and  made  his  last 
injunctions.  He  neither  ate  nor  drank  anything  [that 
day] ;  and  when  he  performed  the  last  evening  prayer, 
he  bowed  himself  to  the  ground  and  said  as  he  bowed: 
^  Oh,   God!  verily  I  have  known  Thee  to  the  extent  of  my 


GENERAL   INTRODUCTION  xiii 

power:  forgive  me,  therefore.  Verily  my  knowledge  of 
Thee  is  my  recommendation  to  Thee.^  And  [so  saying], 
he  died ;  may  God  have  pity  on  him !  ^^ 

We  may  look  upon  Omar  as  a  deeply  learned  man, 
following  his  own  convictions,  who,  tortured  with  the  ques- 
tion of  existence,  and  finding  no  solution  to  life  in  Mus- 
ulman  dogmas,  worked  out  for  himself  a  regular 
conception  of  life  based  on  Sufistic  Mysticism;  a  man 
who,  without  discarding  belief,  smiled  ironically  at  the 
inconsistencies  and  peculiarities  of  the  Islam  of  his  time, 
which  left  many  minds  dissatisfied  in  the  fourth  and  fifth 
centuries,  needing  as  it  did  vivification.  It  found  this 
in  the  person  of  Ghazzali,  who  in  this  movement  assigned 
the  proper  place  to  the  Mystic  element.  Omar  was  a 
preacher  of  moral  purity  and  of  a  contemplative  life ;  one 
who  loved  his  God  and  struggled  to  master  the  eternal, 
^the  good,  and  the  beautiful. 

In  this  manner  also  is  Omar  portrayed  in  the  various 
early  biographical  notices:  a  defender  of  **  Greek  Science,* 
famous  for  his  knowledge  of  the  Koran  and  the  Law, 
and  at  the  same  time  a  ^^  stinging  serpent  *  to  the  dog- 
matic; a  wit  and  a  mocker,  a  bitter  and  implacable  enemy 
of  all  hypocrisy;  a  man  who,  while  curing  others  of  the 
wounds  of  worldly  triviality,  impurity,  and  sinful  vanity, 
himself  only  with  almost  his  last  breath  closed  the  phi- 
losophic book  on  "  Healing  *  and  turned  with  a  touching 
prayer  to  the  One  God,  the  Infinite,  whom  he  had  been 
striving  to  comprehend  with  all  the  strength  of  his  mind 
and  heart.  Khayyam's  lively  protests  and  his  heated  \ 
words  in  freedom's  cause  brought  upon  him  many  bitter 
moments  in  his  life  and  exposed  him  to  numerous  attacks 
at  the  hands  of  the  mullahs,  especially  those  of  the 
Shiite  community. 

Besides  these,  then  as  now  (apart  from  hypocrites),  per- 
sons were  not  wanting  who,  failing  to  understand  Omar, 
regarded  him  as  an  unbeliever,  atheist,  and  materialist. 
But  in  the  course  of  centuries  the  people  of  Persia  and 
India,  realizing,  perhaps  instinctively,  the  injustice  of  for- 
mer reproaches,  have  taken  to  publishing  and  reading 
Omar  Khayyam  in  collections  side  by  side  with  Abu-Said, 


I 


xiv  GENERAL   INTRODUCTION 

Abd-Allah  Ansari,  and  Attar  —  that  is  to  say,  with  Sufi 
Mystics  of  the  purest  water,  men  whose  moral  and  relig- 
ious reputations  were  spotless.^ 

Rightly  to  understand  Omar  some  knowledge  of  Sufism 
and  its  tenets  is  necessary.  Sufism  is  a  mystical  doctrine 
which  had  its  birth  on  the  Arabian  coast,  and  succeeded 
in  implanting  itself  there  to  the  point  of  putting  a  deci- 
sive check  upon  the  orthodox  philosophy.  The  etymology 
of  the  name  is  difBcult  to  find.  According  to  some,  it 
comes  from  the  word  siif  (wool,  a  woolen  garment)  be- 
cause the  first  persons  to  adopt  this  doctrine  clothed 
themselves  in  wool. 

We  can  give,  as  a  proof,  in  support  of  this  etymology, 
the  fact  that  the  Persians  call  their  dervishes  Sufis, 
pechjnineh  poch  (clothed  in  wool).  The  name  could  also 
come  from  the  Arabic  safoii  (purity)  or  the  Greek  <jo(pia 
(wisdom).  Again,  some  Arabic  authors  call  by  the  name 
of  Soufa  an  Arabic  tribe  that  separated  themselves  from 
the  world  in  the  ante-Islamic  period,  consecrating  them- 
selves to  the  keeping  of  the  temple  of  Mecca.  A  man 
who  professed  the  Mystic  principles  of  tasawoiif  (the 
spiritual  life)  they  called  a  ^^  Sufi.  '^ 

The  origin  of  Musulman  Mysticism  is  a  question  en- 
tailing some  controversy,  for  whoever  knows  the  detailed 
ritual  and  the  dogmatic  coldness  of  the  Koran  finds  it  im- 
possible to  reconcile  Islamic  dogma  with  any  idea  of 
Mysticism  whatsoever.  In  vain  does  one  seek  to  find  an 
example  of  Mystical  teaching  in  this  aphorism  attributed 
to  Mahomet :  ^*  It  is  when  he  prays  that  the  faithful  one 
is  nearest  God,'^  as  Islamism  holds  to  a  definite  separation 
between  the  Divinity  and  the  world,  between  the  Creator 
and  the  thing  created.  The  religious  customs  that  Ma- 
homet instituted  and  the  moral  action  that  he  taught 
served  only  to  merit  the  good-will  of  the  Divinity;  at  the 
utmost  he  only  believed  that  he  would  be  permitted  to 
see  Him  face  to  face. 

Whence  comes  then  this  Mystical  idea  which,  for  so 
many  centuries,  has  occupied  all  the  minds  and  absorbed  all 
the  intellectual  force  of  the  Musulman  world  ?  Two  dif- 
ferent  origins   can    be    given  for   it:    the    idea  of  emana- 


GENERAL   INTRODUCTION  xv 

tion  from  and"  return  to  the  divine  essence  whence  it 
came  —  what  we  call  Neo-platonism.  Added  to  this  are 
Contemplation  and  Annihilation,  which  come  to  it  through 
Persia  and  the  Vedantic  school  as  intermediaries,  bringing 
with  it  Pantheism,  which  made  its  way  late  into  Sufism, 
and  almost  solely  among  the  Persians.  Also,  it  could  be 
said  that  originally  Sufism  owed  its  principles  to  the 
Alexandrian  school. 

The  Arabs,  who  studied  and  translated  the  greater  part 
of  Aristotle,  knew  Plato  only  by  name;  but  they  came 
under  his  influence  and  received  his  doctrines,  strongly 
impregnated  with  the  Mysticism  of  the  Kabbala,  through 
the  Alexandrians  and  especially  through  Philon.  To  an- 
nihilate reason,  or  at  least  to  subordinate  it  to  feeling; 
to  attack  liberty,  in  order  to  subject  the  whole  of  life  to 
love;  and,  furthermore,  the  blind  abandoning  of  self  — 
such  is  the  aim  of  Sufism,  as  it  is  of  all  Mystic  phi- 
losophy. 

><The  doctrine  of  the  Sufis  has  been  set  forth  in  a  great 
number  of  treatises,  notably  that  of  Sohrawdi.  God 
alone  exists;  He  is  in  everything  and  everything  is  in 
Him.  All  beings  emanate  from  Him,  without  being  really 
distinct  from  Him.  The  world  exists  for  all  eternity;  the 
material  is  only  an  illusion  of  the  senses.  Sufism  is  the 
true  philosophy  of  Islamism,,  "  which  is  the  best  of  relig- 
ions,'* but  religions  have  only  a  relative  importance  and 
serve  but  to  guide  us  toward  the   Reality. 

God  is  the  author  of  the  acts  of  the  human  race ;  it  is  He 
who  controls  the  will  of  man,  which  is  not  free  in  its  action. 
Like  all  animals  man  possesses  an  original  mind,  an 
animal  or  living  mind,  a  mind  instinctive;  but  he  has 
also  a  human  mind,  breathed  into  him  by  God,  and  of 
the  same  character  as  the  original  and  constructive  element 
itself.  The  concomitant  mind  comprehends  the  original 
element  and  the  human  mind;  it  extends  itself  over  the 
triple  domain:  animal,  vegetable,  and  mineral.  The  soul, 
which  existed  before  the  body,  is  confined  in  the  body 
as  in  a  cage ;  death,  then  is,  the  object  of  the  Sufi's  desires, 
since  it  returns  him  to  the  bosom  of  the  Divinity.  This 
metempsychosis  permits  the  soul    which  has   not  fulfilled 


xvi  GENERAL   INTRODUCTION 

its  destiny  here  below  to  be  purified  and  worthy  of  a 
re-union  with  God.  This  spiritual  union  all  can  strive 
for  ardently,  but  all  cannot  attain,  because  it  is  a  product 
of  the  grace  of  God. 

The  Sufi,  during  his  sojourn  in  the  body,  is  uniquely 
occupied  in  meditating  upon  his  unity  with  God  ( WaJidanija\ 
the  reminiscence  of  the  names  of  God  ( Zikr) ,  and  the 
progressive  advancement  in  the  tarika  or  journey  of  life, 
up  to  his  unification  with  God. 

What  is  the  Sufi  journey,  then  ?  Human  life  has  been 
likened  to  a  voyage,  where  the  traveler  is  seeking  after 
God.  The  aim  of  the  voyage  is  to  attain  to  a  knowl- 
edge of  God,  for  human  existence  is  a  period  of  ban- 
ishment for  the  soul,  which  cannot  return  to  God  until  it 
has  passed  through  many  successive  stages.  The  natural 
state  of  man  is  called  nasoiit  (humanity) ;  the  disciple 
should  observe  the  law  and  conform  to  all  the  rites  of 
believers.  The  other  stages  are:  the  nature  of  the 
angels  {inalakouf)^  where  one  follows  the  way  to  purity, 
the  possession  of  power  {djabrout),  the  degree  to  which 
knowledge  corresponds  {in'arifa),  and  finally,  extinction 
or  absorption  in  the  Deity,  the  degree  to  which  truth 
corresponds.  The  voyager  agrees  to  renouncement,  which 
is  of  two  kinds:  external  and  internal.  The  first  is  the 
renouncement  of  riches  and  worldly  honors;  the  second 
is  the  renouncement  of  profane  desires.  And  he  should 
especially  guard  against  idolatry,  which  for  some  is  the 
adoration  of  worldly  achievement,  for  others  a  too  assid- 
uous practice   of  praying  and  fasting. 

To  arrive  at  this  aim,  the  voyager  has  three  neces- 
sary aids:  attraction  {mdudhah),  the  act  of  God  which 
draws  all  men  who  have  that  tendency  or  inclination  to 
Him;  devotion  {ibddd),  continuing  the  journey  by  two 
roads  —  towards  God  and  in  God,  the  first  limited,  the 
second  without  limit;  finally,  elevation  (ouroudi).  But 
the  voyage  cannot  be  accomplished  alone;  it  is  neces- 
sary to  have  a  guide  or  a  monitor  taken  from  the  sec- 
ond class  (ibddd).  The  believer  who,  after  having  been 
tdlib  (an  educated  man  doubting  the  reality  of  God)  and 
mourid  (desirous  of  following   out   his   quest),  becomes   a 


GENERAL   INTRODUCTION  xvii 

salik  (traveler),  places  himself  under  the  authority  of  a 
Sufi  guide  who  teaches  him  to  serve  God  until,  through 
divine  influence,  he  attains  to  the  ichk  (love)  stage.  Di- 
vine love,  removing  all  mundane  desires  from  his  heart, 
causes  him  to  arrive  at  zouhd  (isolation) ;  he  then  leads 
a  contemplative  life,  passes  through  the  m'arifa  degree, 
and  awaits  the  direct  illumination  of  wadja  (ecstasy). 

After  having  received  a  revelation  of  the  true  nature 
of  God  (the  hakika  stage)  he  arrives  at  the  wasl  stage 
(union  with  God) ;  he  cannot  go  further ;  death  alone  re- 
mains, by  which  he  will  arrive  at  the  final  degree,  ab- 
sorption in  the  Divinity.  The  Zikr  are  only  various  forms 
of  devotion  invented  by  the  Sufi  guides  to  develop  the 
spiritual  life.  The  conduct  of  the  disciple  in  the  pres- 
ence of  his  master  is  determined  by  rules  which  differ 
little  from  those  imposed  upon  all  dervishes. 

Some  authors  distinguish,  in  the  Sufi  voyage,  seven 
stages,  corresponding  to  the  degrees  in  the  celestial 
sphere,  in  order  to  have  the  soul  received  there  after 
death.  But,  protest  metaphysicians,  the  soul  cannot  re- 
turn to  a  determined  place,  since  it  does  not  come  from 
a  determined  place.  Celestial  intelligence,  to  which  cor- 
responds the  degree  of  intelligence  reached  by  man,  will 
absorb  the  soul  after  its  separation  from  the   body. 

The  Sufis  attribute  a  high  antiquity  to  their  doctrines. 
They  do  not  hesitate  to  refer  them  to  as  far  back  as 
Abraham;  they  pretend  that  one  of  the  founders  of  their 
sect  was  own  son-in-law  to  the  prophet  Ali,  son  of  Abou- 
Talib.  Finally,  "  there  came  a  pious  woman  from  Jeru- 
salem, by  the  name  of  Rabia,  whose  words  recall  the 
Christian  Mysticism.'^ 

The  first  person  to  take  the  name  of  Sufi  was  Abou- 
Hachim  of  Koufa.  The  first  convent  or  KJianakah  was 
founded  in  Khorasan  by  Abou-Said,  the  Persian,  although 
the  prophet  had  prohibited  monkish  life  in  Islam.  Another 
convent  was  established  at  Ramia,  in  Syria,  and  Saladin 
founded  one  in  Egypt.  Sufism  then  was  divided  into  two 
schools:  The  Persian  Bestami  (A.  D.  875)  inclined  towards 
Pantheism;  Djonaid,  of  Bagdad,  preached  a  system  rec- 
oncilable with    Musulman  dogmatism.       One  of  the   most 


xviii  GENERAL   INTRODUCTION 

celebrated  doctors  of  this  school  was  Halladj,  burnt  alive 
in  A.  D.  922.  They  discoursed  upon  Sufism  under  the 
Kalifs  Al-Motazz  and  Al-Mohtadi,  and  preached  it  under 
Al-Motamid.  The  principal  Sufi  writers  are:  Mohammed 
Salami  an  Nichabouri  (A.D.  102 1),  El-Kochairi  (A. D.  1072), 
Ghazli  (A.D.  11 11),  Sohrawdi  (AD.  1234),  Ferid-ed-din 
Attar  (A.  D.  1230),  Djami  (A.  D.  1492),  and  Ech-Cha'rani 
(A.  D.  1565). 

This  Mysticism,  so  sweet  and  so  full  of  sentiment, 
exhales  itself  in  poesy,  and  is  as  much  stamped  with  ten- 
derness and  resignation  as  it  is  overflowing  with  sensual- 
ity and  drunkenness.  The  best  and  most  illustrious  of 
the  Persian  poets  are  of  this  sect:  Djelal-ed-din  er-Roumi, 
author  of  the  ^^  MesnewP^ ;  Djami,  author  of  ^'^  Sal  a  man 
ou-AbsaP^  ;  Ferid-ed-din  Attar,  author  of  ^*  Mantik-ut-tair  ^^ ; 
S'adi,   Hafiz  de  Chiraz,   Bayazid-al-Bestami. 

Just  as  Sufis  leave  the  true  faith  for  its  semblance,  so 
they  also  exchange  the  external  features  of  all  things 
for  the  internal  (the  corporeal  for  the  spiritual)  and  give 
a  spiritual  significance  to  outward  forms.  They  behold 
objects  of  a  precious  nature  in  their  natural  character, 
and  for  this  reason,  the  greater  part  of  their  words  have 
a  spiritual    and   visionary  meaning. 

For  instance,  when,  like  Omar,  they  mention  wine, 
they  mean  a  knowledge  of  God,  which,  extensively  con- 
sidered, is  the  love  of  God.  Wine,  viewed  extensively, 
is  also  love:  love  and  affection  are  here  the  same  thing. 
The  wine-shop  with  them  means  the  miirshid  i  kiainil 
(spiritual  director),  for  his  heart  is  said  to  be  the  deposi- 
tory of  the  love  of  God;  the  wine-cup  is  the  telkin  (the 
pronunciation  of  the  name  of  God  in  a  declaration  of 
faith  as:  There  is  no  God  but  Allah),  or  it  signifies  the 
words  which  flow  from  the  imirshid's  mouth  respecting 
divine  knowledge,  and  which,  heard  by  the  salik  (the 
Dervish,  or  one  who  pursues  the  true  path),  intoxicates 
his  soul,  and  divests  his  mind  (of  passions)  giving  him 
pure,  spiritual  delight. 

The  sweetheart  or  Beloved  means  the  preceptor,  be- 
cause, when  any  one  sees  his  beloved  he  admires  her  pro- 
portions, with  a  heart  full  of  love.     The  Dervish  beholds 


GENERAL   INTRODUCTION  xix 

the  secret  knowledge  of  God  which  fills  the  heart  of  his 
spiritual  preceptor  {murshid),  and  through  it  receives  a 
similar  inspiration,  and  acquires  a  full  perception  of  all 
that  he  possesses,  just  as  the  pupil  learns  from  his  master. 
As  the  lover  delights  in  the  presence  of  his  sweetheart,  so 
the  Dervish  rejoices  in  the  company  of  his  beloved  pre- 
ceptor. The  sweetheart  is  the  object  of  a  worldly  affec- 
tion; but  the  preceptor  commands  a  spiritual  attachment. 

The  curls  or  ringlets  of  the  beloved  are  the  grateful 
praises  of  the  preceptor,  tending  to  bind  the  affections 
of  the  Dervish-pupil;  the  moles  on  her  face  signify  that 
when  the  pupil,  at  times,  beholds  the  total  absence  of  all 
worldly  wants  on  the  part  of  the  preceptor,  he  also  aban- 
dons all  the  desires  of  both  worlds — he,  perhaps,  even 
goes  so  far  as  to  desire  nothing  else  in  life  than  his  pre- 
ceptor; the  furrows  on  the  brow  of  the  beloved  one, 
which  they  compare  to  verses  of  the  Koran,  mean  the 
light  of  the  heart  of  the  niursJud :  they  are  compared  to 
the  verses  of  the  Koran,  because  the  attributes  of  God, 
in  accordance  with  the  injunction  of  the  Prophet:  *^Be 
ye  endued  with  divine  qualities,*  are  possessed  by  the 
sheikh   (or  imirshid). 

Perhaps  I  can  do  no  better  than  to  quote  one  of  the 
foremost  authorities  on  Sufism*  in  regard  to  Omar's 
teachings. 

*^  Seldom  has  a  poet  suffered  from  his  friends  and  his 
foes  as  has  Omar  Khayyam.  ^  He  has  been  regarded,^ 
says  a  writer,  ^  as  a  free-thinker,  a  subverter  of  faith ;  an 
atheist  and  materialist;  a  pantheist  and  a  scoffer  at  Mys- 
ticism ;  an  orthodox  Musulman ;  a  true  philosopher,  a 
keen  observer,  a  man  of  learning ;  a  bon  vivant,  a  profligate, 
a  dissembler  and  a  hypocrite,  and  a  blasphemer  —  nay, 
more,  an  incarnate  negation  of  positive  religion  and  of 
all  moral  beliefs;  a  gentle  nature,  more  given  to  the 
contemplation  of  things  divine  than  worldly  enjoyments; 
an  epicurean  sceptic;  the  Persian  Abu-1-Ala,  Voltaire,  and 
Heine  in  one.*  The  writer  has  in  view  the  well-known 
criticisms  of  Von  Hammer,   Renan,    Ellis,  Nicolas,  Garcin 

*C.  H.  A.  Bjerregaard  in  « The  Sufi  Omar».  J.  F.  Taylor  & 
Co..  N.  Y.,  1902, 


TO.  GENERAL   INTRODUCTION 

de  Tassy,  Whinfield,  Aug.  Muller,  etc.  He  might  have 
added  Vedder's  curious  misunderstanding  of  the  ^  Beloved,' 
making  him  a  damsel  and  a  playtoy,  and  the  thousand 
and  one  small  ideas  set  forth  by  Omarian  Societies. 

"  All  this  criticism  is  curious  because  it  is  so  completely 
out  of  harmony  with  the  facts  of  Omar's  life.  It  is  true 
that  no  complete,  authentic  manuscript  of  Omar's  is 
known,  and  equally  true  that  no  comprehensive  biography 
is  known;  but  detailed  information  has  come  down  to 
us  from  his  contemporaries.  From  these  notes  enough 
can  be  gathered  to  show  that  Omar  was  a  great  man 
indeed,  one  who  clearly  and  forcibly  shows  the  four  sides 
of  a  perfect  character. 

"  A  perfect  character  is  first  and  fundamentally  power- 
ful. It  is  based  upon  the  One,  be  it  in  idea  or  in  action. 
Next,  it  is  so  simple  and  direct  that  all  extraneous  thoughts 
and  purposes  are  unknown  to  it.  These  two  sides  con- 
dition one  another.  No  power  without  simplicity  and 
no  directness  without  power.  The  third  side  of  a  great 
character  is  love  or  human  feeling;  a  fullness  that  seeks 
to  draw  all  men  to  the  One,  and  the  fourth  and  last 
characteristic  is  harmony  or  a  welding  together  into  One 
of  all  these  four.  The  last  characteristic  is,  of  course, 
an  impossibility  where  the  others  do  not  exist;  nor  can 
the  others  attain  any  vividness  or  fullness  without 
love. 

*  A  perfect  character  is  rare.  We  see,  however,  glimpses 
of  it  here  and  there.  Omar  Khayyam  was  a  type  of 
perfect  character.  He  is  full  of  the  One;  he  knows  of 
nothing  but  the  One ;  he  burns  to  draw  his  fellow-men  to 
the  One ;  he  belongs  nowhere  but  in  the  One,  in  whom 
he  indeed  can  be  said  to  move,  live,  and  have  his  being. 
In  the  One  he  attained  Wholeness,  harmony.  Omar's  phi- 
losophy is  that  of  the  Sufis.  In  that,  too,  he  is  consistent. 
The  one  is  Truth;  Truth  is  the  reality  of  things;  Truth 
burns  to  draw  men  to  Itself;  Truth  is  the  Law  or  *  Uni- 
verse.* His  method  is  Symbolism,  viz.  :  he  chooses  the 
transparencies  of  Nature  in  Order  to  show  his  hearers 
how  Truth  or  Wisdom  and  Love  or  Devotion  everywhere 
appear    to    be    the    reality   behind   ^  the    magic   Shadow- 


GENERAL   INTRODUCTION  xxi 

shapes  that  come  and  go. > His_most  prominent  symbols 

are  Wine  and  Love;  Roses,  Springtime,  and  DeatKT 
'cc  Omar's" ethics  are  not  those  of  Mohammedanism.     He 
advocates  Resignation,  to  be  sure,  but  not  Mohammedan 
fatalism  as  popularly  understood.     His  morals  spring  from 
his   conception   of   the   fullness  of   the  One,  and  -as   such 
they  are  in  harmony  with  the   most  universal  notions  of 
mankind.       In   one    word,    Omar's    theology,    philosophy, 
method,   and    morals    are    Sufistic,     Sufism    taken    in    the 
highest   sense  as  the  unifying  notion  for  Wholeness,  Love, 
Truth,    and    Power.      A  study  of   Sufism  will   reveal  the 
real  Omar  —  hitherto  but  little  known,  if  known  at  all. 
******* 
«  No  one  has  attempted,  so  far  as  I  know,  to  classify  the 
various  Sufistic  systems.     It  is  not  so  difficult  to   do   so 
when    a    key  can    be    found  to  them.       The  best  key   is 
that    four-foldness  which    manifests    itself    in    all    human 
character,  endeavor,  and  work.    Corresponding  to  the  four- 
foldness    of  character  delineated  above,   I  shall  now  take 
the  terms   Life,   Love,    Light,   and  Law  and   say  that  Al- 
Ghazzali    and    Jelaladdin    represent    the    first    and,    as    a 
proof,  point  to  their  constant  emphasis  of  will   as   being 
the    dominant    power    of    existence,   and    the    prominence 
they    give    to    moral    worth.       The    type    of  Love,  in    the 
form  of   poetry  and  feeling,  is  represented  by   Hafiz  and 
Jami.       The   third    group   is   fully    and    completely   iilled 
by    Shabistani,    the    author     of    <  Gulshan-i-Raz.  >       It     is 
Light,  and    its    form    is   Philosophy,  Truth,    and   Under- 
standing.    The   last,  the    fourth,    sums  up   in    a   measure, 
the   three  preceding,  and   is   also  a  clearly  defined  group 
by   itself.     It  is    Law,  Order,  Unity,  and   Reality.     There 
is   more   independence    in   it   than   in    any   of   the  others, 
because   it   is   the   nearest    approach   known    in    existence 
to  Wholeness  or  Unity.     It  contains   the  opposites  of  ex- 
istence, both  cosmic  and   human,  viz. :    the  protest  of  the 
Mystic  and    also    his    affirmation,    and    the    new  Hope  he 
represents. 

«  Omar  Khayyam  belongs  to  this  fourth  group.  I  do  not 
say  he  alone  fills  it.  But  he  exhibits  that  Independence 
and  Protest  which  is  the  first  and  outward  characteristic 


xxii  GENERAL   INTRODUCTION 

of  it.  He  is  also  from  time  to  time  soaring  into  the 
realms  of  the  Truth  or  Unity,  in  a  way  not  found  in  any 
other    Sufi    poet   or  doctor. 

"Under  the  garb  of  the  Mystic's  favorite  method  of 
Doubt  and  Protest,  the  Sufi  (Omar)  pictures  the  process  of 
the  Awakening  of  the  Soul.  That  is  the  purpose  of  the 
*  Magic  Shadow-shapes  that  come  and  go  ^  in  the  Ru- 
baiyat  of  Omar  Khayyam.  His  pictures  are  sufficiently 
transparent  for  us  to  see  The   Reality  Behind. 

"While  so  much  is  claimed  for  Omar,  it  must  not  be 
forgotten  that  it  has  not  been  said  that  he  is  the  only 
perfect  Sufi.  It  is  not  our  intention  to  say  or  to  intimate 
that.  Omar  is  great  enough  when  we  attribute  to  him 
the  office  of  an  Awakener;  not  merely  that  of  a  John  the 
Baptist,  but  the  office  of  one  who  is  himself  full  of  the 
Awakening  he  preaches.  Such  an  one  is  a  unique  char- 
acter, and  is  truly  an  At-oner,  one  who  heals  all  wounds 
and  binds  up  broken  limbs. -^^ 

I  have  already  stated,  if  not  in  actual  words,  at  least 
by  inference,  that  Khayyam's  philosophical  and  religious 
opinions  were  in  certain  essential  points  based  upon  the 
teaching  of  the  Vedantas.  He  must  have  been  familiar 
with  the  general  scope  of  their  philosophy,  although  at- 
taching himself,  as  we  have  seen,  to  the  ranks  of  the 
Sufi  Mystics.  Sufism  and  Babism  are  probably  the  most 
widely  spread  doctrines  current  in  modern  Persia,  and 
after  all  are  but  forms  of  Vedantic  pantheism  de- 
spoiled of  real  significance  by  the  effort  to  accommodate 
themselves  to  the  creed  of  Islam.  We  learn  from  El 
Kifti  that  Khayyam  "  exhorted  to  the  seeking  of  the 
One,  the  Ruler,  by  the  purification  of  bodily  movements, 
for  the  cleansing  of  the  human  soul,"  an  unmistakable 
exposition  of  Sufi  practices,  although  based  originally 
upon  the  customs  of  the  Vedantic  sages. 

He  certainly  did  not  practice  asceticism  and  other  quasi- 
religious  forms,  which  had  been  grafted  upon  the  austere 
simplicity  of  the  original  Vedantic  creed,  but  he  did  in- 
culcate the  necessity  of  acquiring  "  the  knowledge  of  the 
unity  of  the  soul  with  God** — the  one  thing  important  — 


GENERAL   INTRODUCTION  xxiii 

which  can  only  be  achieved  by  the  renouncement  of  de- 
sire, the  purification  of  the  soul  from  the  lusts  of  the 
world,  and  the  practice  of  kindliness,  goodness,  univer- 
sal sympathy  with  mankind,  and  the  patience  which 
brings  perfect  work. 

That  Omar  was  a  man  of  many  moods  is  evident.  His 
poetic  faculties,  acted  upon  by  an  intelligence  that  was 
profound,  and  by  a  wit  as  cutting  as  the  tuhvar  of  a 
Persian  soldier,  swayed  him  hither  and  thither  upon  the 
sea  of  daily  doubts  and  fears  which  are  part  of  man's 
existence.  Yet,  in  his  way,  he  was  a  beacon  light,  not 
only  in  the  history  of  Sufi  Mysticism,  but  in  the  annals 
of  God-seeking.  I  can  find  no  better  yoke-fellow  for  him 
than  Luther,  like  whom  he  was  indeed  an  Apostle  of 
Protest. 


J^O'6-e/'^<^h-^^-^- 


THE   FIRST   EDITION   OF 
EDWARD   FITZGERALD'S   TRANSLATION 

OF  THE 

QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR  KHAYYAM 


(xxv) 


OMAR     KHAYYAM 

THE 

ASTRONOMER-POET    OF    PERSIA 

OMAR  Khayyam  was  born  at  Naishapur  in  Khorassan 
in  the  latter  half  of  our  eleventh,  and  died  within 
the  first  quarter  of  our  twelfth  Century.  The 
slender  story  of  his  life  is  curiously  twined  about  that  of 
two  other  very  considerable  figures  in  their  time  and 
country:  one  of  whom  tells  the  story  of  all  three.  This 
was  Nizam  ul  Mulk,  Vizyr  to  Alp  Arslan  the  son,  and 
Malik  Shah  the  grandson,  of  Toghrul  Beg  the  Tartar,  who 
had  wrested  Persia  from  the  feeble  successor  of  Mahmud 
the  Great,  and  founded  that  Seljukian  Dynasty  which 
finally  roused  Europe  into  the  Crusades.  This  Nizam  ul 
Mulk,  in  his  ^^  Wastyaf^^ — or  **  Testament*  —  which  he 
wrote  and  left  as  a  memorial  for  future  statesmen  —  re- 
lates the  following,  as  quoted  in  the  ^^  Calcutta  Review,* 
No.  lix.,  from  Mirkhond's  "History  of  the  Assassins.* 

*^  ^  One  of  the  greatest  of  the  wise  men  of  Khorassan 
was  the  Imam  Mowaffak  of  Naishapur,  a  man  highly  hon- 
oured and  reverenced  —  may  God  rejoice  his  soul;  his 
illustrious  years  exceeded  eighty-five,  and  it  was  the  uni- 
versal belief  that  every  boy  who  read  the  Koran  or  studied 
the  traditions  in  his  presence,  would  assuredly  attain  to 
honour  and  happiness.  For  this  cause  did  my  father 
send  me  from  Tus  to  Naishapur  with  Abd-us-samad,  the 
doctor  of  law,  that  I  might  employ  myself  in  study  and 
learning  under  the  guidance  of  that  illustrious  teacher. 
Towards  me  he  ever  turned  an  eye  of  favour  and  kind- 
ness,   and   as  his   pupil   I   felt  for  him  extreme  affection 

(I) 


2        QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

and  devotion,  so  that  I  passed  four  years  in  his  service. 
When  I  first  came  there,  I  found  two  other  pupils  of 
mine  own  age  newly  arrived,  Hakim  Omar  Khayyam,  and 
the  ill-fated  Ben  Sabbah.  Both  were  endowed  with 
sharpness  of  wit  and  the  highest  natural  powers;  and  we 
three  formed  a  close  friendship  together.  When  the 
Imam  rose  from  his  lectures,  they  used  to  join  me,  and 
we  repeated  to  each  other  the  lessons  we  had  heard. 
Now  Omar  was  a  native  of  Naishapur,  while  Hasan  Ben 
Sabbah's  father  was  one  Ali,  a  man  of  austere  life  and 
practice,  but  heretical  in  his  creed  and  doctrine.  One 
day  Hasan  said  to  me  and  to  Khayyam,  *^  It  is  a  univer- 
sal belief  that  the  pupils  of  the  Imam  Mowaffak  will  at- 
tain to  fortune.  Now,  even  if  we  a/l  do  not  attain 
thereto,  without  doubt  one  of  us  will;  what  then  shall  be 
our  mutual  pledge  and  bond?*  We  answered,  "Be  it 
what  you  please.  ^^  —  "Well,*  he  said,  "let  us  make  avow, 
that  to  whomsoever  this  fortune  falls,  he  shall  share  it 
equally  with  the  re^t,  and  reserve  no  pre-eminence  for 
himself.*  —  "Be  it  so,*  we  both  replied,  and  on  those 
terms  we  mutually  pledged  our  words.  Years  rolled  on, 
and  I  went  from  Khorassan  to  Transoxiana,  and  wandered 
to  Ghazni  and  Cabul;  and  when  I  returned,  I  was  in- 
vested with  office,  and  rose  to  be  administrator  of  affairs 
during  the  Sultanate  of  Sultan  Alp  Arslan.  ^ 

®  He  goes  on  to  state,  that  years  passed  by,  and  both 
his  old  school-friends  found  him  out,  and  came  and 
claimed  a  share  in  his  good  fortune,  according  to  the 
school-day  vow.  The  Vizier  was  generous  and  kept  his 
word.  Hasan  demanded  a  place  in  the  government, 
which  the  Sultan  granted  at  the  "Vizier's  request;  but, 
discontented  with  a  gradual  rise,  he  plunged  into  the 
maze  of  intrigue  of  an  Oriental  court,  and,  failing  in 
a  base  attempt  to  supplant  his  benefactor,  he  was  dis- 
graced and  fell.  After  many  mishaps  and  wanderings, 
Hasan  became  the  head  of  the  Persian  sect  of  the  Is- 
mailians  —  a  party  of  fanatics  who  had  long  murmured 
in  obscurity,  but  rose  to  an  evil  eminence  under  the 
guidance  of  his  strong  and  evil  will.  In  a.  d.  1090,  he 
seized  the  castle  of  Alamut,  in    the    province  of  Rudbar, 


INTRODUCTION  3 

which  lies  in  the  mountainous  tract  south  of  the  Caspian 
Sea;  and  it  was  from  this  mountain  home  he  obtained 
that  evil  celebrity  among-  the  Crusaders  as  the  OLD 
MAN  OF  THE  MOUNTAINS,  and  spread  terror 
through  the  Mohammedan  world;  and  it  is  yet  disputed 
whether  the  word  Assassin,  which  they  have  left  in  the 
language  of  modern  Europe  as  their  dark  memorial,  is 
derived  from  the  hashish,  or  opiate  of  hemp-leaves  (the 
Indian  bhang),  with  which  they  maddened  themselves  to 
the  sullen  pitch  of  Oriental  desperation,  or  from  the 
name  of  the  founder  of  the  dynasty,  whom  we  have 
seen  in  his  quiet  collegiate  days,  at  Naishapur.  One  of 
the  countless  victims  of  the  Assassin's  dagger  was  Nizam 
ul  Mulk  himself,  the  old  school-boy  friend.  1 

"  Omar  Khayyam  also  came  to  the  Vizier  to  claim  his 
share ;  but  not  to  ask  for  title  or  office.  ^  The  greatest 
boom  you  can  confer  on  me,*  he  said,  *is  to  let  me  live  in 
a  corner  under  the  shadow  of  your  fortune,  to  spread  wide 
the  advantages  of  Science,  and  pray  for  your  long  life 
and  prosperity.  *  The  Vizier  tells  us,  that,  when  he  found 
Omar  was  really  sincere  in  his  refusal,  he  pressed  him 
no  further,  but  granted  him  a  yearly  pension  of  1200 
mithkals  of  gold,  from  the  treasury  of  Naishapur. 

"At  Naishapur  thus  lived  and  died  Omar  Khayyam, 
*  busied,*  adds  the  Vizier,  *in  winning  knowledge  of  every 
kind,  and  especially  in  Astronomy,  wherein  he  attained 
to  a  very  high  pre-eminence.  Under  the  Sultanate  of 
Malik  Shah  he  came  to  Merv,  and  obtained  great  praise 
for  his  proficiency  in  science,  and  the  Sultan  showered 
favours  upon  him.* 

"  When  Malik  Shah  determined  to  reform  the  calendar, 
Omar  was  one  of  the  eight  learned  men  employed  to  do 
it;  the  result  was  the  Jalali  era  (so  called  from  Jalal-ud- 
din  one  of  the  king's  names)  —  *  a  computation   of  time,  * 

I  Some  of  Omar's  Rubaiyat  warn  us  of  the  danger  of  greatness, 
the  instability  of  fortune,  and  while  advocating  charity  to  all  men, 
recommending  us  to  be  too  intimate  with  none.  Attar  makes  Nizam 
ul  Mulk  use  the  very  words  of  his  friend  Omar  [Rub.  xxviii.], 
«When  Nizam  ul  Mulk  was  in  the  Agony  (of  Death)  he  said,  <0h 
God!  I  am  passing  away  in  the  hand  of  the  Wind.*" 


4         QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

says  Gibbon,  *  which  surpasses  the  Julian,  and  approaches 
the  accuracy  of  the  Gregorian  style.*  He  is  also  the 
author  of  some  astronomical  tables,  entitled  *•  Ziji-Malik- 
shahi^ "  and  the  French  have  lately  republished  and 
translated  an  Arabic  treatise  of  his  on  algebra. 

"  His  Takhallus  or  poetical  name  (Khayyam)  signifies  a 
Tentniaker,  and  he  is  said  to  have  at  one  time  exercised 
that  trade,  perhaps  before  Nizam  ul  Mulk's  generosity 
raised  him  to  independence.  Many  Persian  poets  similarly 
derive  their  names  from  their  occupations;  thus  we  have 
Attar,  *a  druggist,*  Assar,  ^  an  oil  presser,*  etc.i  Omar 
himself  alludes  to  his  name  in  the  following  whimsical 
lines:  — 

*<  Khayyam,  who  stitched  the  tents  of  science, 

Has  fallen  in  griefs  furnace  and    been    suddenly  burned; 
The  shears  of  Fate  have  cut  the  tent  ropes  of  his  life, 
And  the  broker  of  Hope  has  sold  him  for  nothing  !> 

*^  We  have  only  one  more  anecdote  to  give  of  his  life, 
and  that  relates  to  the  close ;  it  is  told  in  the  anonymous 
preface  which  is  sometimes  prefixed  to  his  poems;  it  has 
been  printed  in  the  Persian  in  the  appendix  to  Hyde's 
^  Veterum  Persarum.  Religio,'*  p.  499;  and  D'Herbelot  al- 
ludes to  it  in  his  Biblioth^gue,  under  Khiam:  2  — 

"  *  It  is  written  in  the  chronicles  of  the  ancients  that 
this  King  of  the  Wise,  Omar  Khayyam,  died  at  Naishapur 
in  the  year  of  the  Hegira  517  (a.d.  1123);  in  science  he 
was  unrivalled, —  the  very  paragon  of  his  age.  Khwajah 
Nizami  of  Samarcand,  who  was  one  of  his  pupils,  relates 
the  following  story:  "I  often  used  to  hold  conversations 
with  my  teacher  Omar  Khayyam,  in  a  garden  ^  and  one  day 
he  said  to  me,  *  My  tomb  shall  be  in  a  spot  where  the 
north  wind  may  scatter  roses  over  it.*  I  wondered  at 
the  words  he  spake,  but  I    knew   that   his    were   no   idle 

1  Though  all  these,  like  our  Smiths,  Archers,  Millers,  Fletchers, 
etc.,  may  simply  retain  the  surname  of  an  hereditary  calling. 

2  <^  Philosophe  Musulman  qui  a  vecic  en  Odcur  de  Saintetd  dans 
sa  Religion,  vers  la  Fin  dti  pre7nier  et  le  Commcnce7ne7it  du  secojid 
Sitcle,'*^  no  part  of  which,  escept  the  ^'^Philosophe^'^  can  apply  to  our 
Khayyam. 


INTRODUCTION  5 

words.  1  Years  after,  when  I  chanced  to  revisit  Naisha- 
pur,  I  went  to  his  final  resting-place,  and  lo!  it  was  just 
outside  a  garden,  and  trees  laden  with  fruit  .stretched 
their  boughs  over  the  garden  wall,  and  dropped  their 
flowers  upon  his  tomb,  so  that  the  stone  was  hidden  under 
them.»  >  » 

Thus  far  —  without  fear  of  trespass  —  from  the  *  Cal- 
cutta Review.'*^  The  writer  of  it,  on  reading  in  India 
this  story  of  Omar's  grave,  was  reminded,  he  says,  of 
Cicero's  account  of  finding  Archimedes'  tomb  at  Syracuse, 
buried  in  grass  and  weeds.  I  think  Thorwaldsen  desired 
to  have  roses  grow  over  him;  a  wish  religiously  fulfilled 
for  him  to  the  present  day,  I  believe.  However,  to  re- 
turn to  Omar. 

Though  the  Sultan  ^^shower'd  favours  upon  him,** 
Omar's  Epicurean  audacity  of  thought  and  speech  caused 
him  to  be  regarded  askance  in  his  own  time  and  country. 
He  is  said  to  have  been  especially  hated  and  dreaded 
by  the  Sufis,  whose  practice  he  ridiculed,  and  whose 
faith  amounts  to  little  more  than  his  own,  when  stript 
of  the  Mysticism  and  formal  recognition  of  Islamism 
under  which  Omar  would  not  hide.  Their  poets,  includ- 
ing Hafiz,  who  are  (with  the  exception  of  Firdausi)  the 
most  considerable  in  Persia,  borrowed  largely,  indeed,  of 
Omar's  material,  but  turning  it  to  a  mystical  use  more 
convenient  to  themselves  and   the  people  they  addressed; 

I  The  Rashness  of  the  Words,  according  to  D'Herbelot,  consisted 
in  being  so  opposed  to  those  in  the  Koran:  «No  Man  knows  where 
he  shall  die.'^  —  This  story  of  Omar  reminds  me  of  another  so  natur- 
ally—  and  when  one  remembers  how  wide  of  his  humble  mark  the 
noble  sailor  aimed  —  so  pathetically  told  by  Captain  Cook  —  not  by 
Doctor  Hawkesworth  —  in  his  Second  Voyage  (i.  374).  When  leav- 
ing Ulietea,  <<  Oreo's  last  request  was  for  me  to  return.  When  he 
saw  he  could  not  obtain  that  promise,  he  asked  the  name  of  my 
Marai  (burying -place).  As  strange  a  question  as  this  was,  I  hesitated 
not  a  moment  to  tell  him  <  Stepney  > ;  the  parish  in  which  I  live  when 
in  London.  I  was  made  to  repeat  it  several  times  over  till  they 
could  pronounce  it;  and  then  *•  Stepjiey  Marai  no  Toote'*  was  echoed 
through  an  hundred  mouths  at  once.  I  afterwards  found  the  same 
question  had  been  put  to  Mr.  Forster  by  a  man  on  shore ;  but  he  gave 
a  different,  and  indeed  more  proper  answer,  by  saying,  <  No  man  who 
used  the  sea  could  say  where  he  should  be  buried.  >» 


6        QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

a  people  quite  as  quick  of  doubt  as  of  belief;  as  keen 
of  bodily  sense  as  of  intellectual;  and  delighting  in  a 
cloudy  composition  of  both,  in  which  they  could  float 
luxuriously  between  heaven  and  earth,  and  this  world 
and  the  next,  on  the  wings  of  a  poetical  expression,  that 
might  serve  indifferently  for  either.  Omar  was  too 
honest  of  heart  as  well  as  of  head  for  this.  Having 
failed  (however  mistakenly)  of  finding  any  Providence 
but  destiny,  and  any  world  but  this,  he  set  about  making 
the  most  of  it;  preferring  rather  to  soothe  the  soul 
through  the  senses  into  acquiescence  with  things  as  he  saw 
them,  than  to  perplex  it  with  vain  disquietude  after  what 
they  might  be.  It  has  been  seen,  however,  that  his 
worldly  ambition  was  not  exorbitant;  and  he  very  likely 
takes  a  humorous  or  perverse  pleasure  in  exalting  the 
gratification  of  sense  above  that  of  the  intellect,  in  which 
he  must  have  taken  great  delight,  although  it  failed  to 
answer  the  questions  in  which  he,  in  common  with  all 
men,   was  most  vitally  interested. 

For  whatever  reason,  however,  Omar,  as  before  said, 
has  never  been  popular  in  his  own  country,  and  there- 
fore has  been  but  scantily  transmitted  abroad.  The 
MSS.  of  his  Poems,  mutilated  beyond  the  average  casual- 
ties of  Oriental  transcription,  are  so  rare  in  the  East  as 
scarce  to  have  reached  westward  at  all,  in  spite  of  all 
the  acquisitions  of  arms  and  science.  There  is  no  copy 
at  the  India  House,  none  at  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale 
of  Paris.  We  know  but  of  one  in  England:  No.  140  of 
the  Ouseley  MSS.  at  the  Bodleian,  written  at  Shiraz, 
A.D.  1460.  This  contains  but  158  Rubaiyat.  One  in  the 
Asiatic  Society's  Library  at  Calcutta  (of  which  we  have 
a  cop}'')  contains  (and  5^et  incomplete)  516,  though  swelled 
to  that  by  all  kinds  of  repetition  and  corruption.  So 
Von  Hammer  speaks  of  his  copy  as  containing  about 
200,  while  Dr.  Sprenger  catalogues  the  Lucknow  MS.  at 
double    that    number.  1     The    scribes,  too,  of    the    Oxford 

1  « Since  this  paper  was  written  >>  (adds  the  Reviewer  in  a  note), 
«we  have  met  with  a  Copy  of  a  very  rare  Edition,  printed  at  Cal- 
cutta in  1836.  This  contains  438  Tetrastichs,  with  an  Appendix  con- 
taining 54  others  not  found  in  some  MSS.>> 


INTRODUCTION  7 

and  Calcutta  MSS.  seem  to  do  their  work  under  a  sort 
of  protest;  each  beginning  with  a  tetrastich  (whether 
genuine  or  not),  taken  out  of  its  alphabetical  order;  the 
Oxford  with  one  of  apology ;  the  Calcutta  with  one  of  ex- 
postulation, supposed  (says  a  notice  prefixed  to  the  MS.) 
to  have  arisen  from  a  dream,  in  which  Omar's  mother 
asked  about  his  future  fate.     It  may  be  rendered  thus  — 

«Oh  Thou  who  burn'st  in  Heart  for  those  who  burn 
In  Hell,  whose  fires  thyself  shall  feed  in  turn; 

How  long  be  crying,  <  Mercy  on  them,  God!> 
Why,  who  art  Thou  to  teach,  and  He  to  learn  ?» 

The    Bodleian    quatrain    pleads    Pantheism   by    way    of 
Justification. 

*  If  I  myself  upon  a  looser  Creed 
Have  loosely  strung  the  Jewel  of  Good  Deed, 
Let  this  one  thing  for  my  Atonement  plead: 
That  One  for  Two  I  never  did  mis-read. '> 

The  reviewer,  1  to  whom  I  owe  the  particulars  of  Omar's 
life,  concludes  his  review  by  comparing  him  with  Lucre- 
tius, both  as  to  natural  temper  and  genius,  and  as  acted 
upon  by  the  circumstances  in  which  he  lived.  Both  in- 
deed were  men  of  subtle,  strong,  and  cultivated  intellect, 
fine  imagination,  and  hearts  passionate  for  truth  and 
justice;  who  justly  revolted  from  their  country's  false 
religion,  and  false,  or  foolish,  devotion  to  it;  but  who 
fell  short  of  replacing  what  they  subverted  by  such  better 
hope  as  others,  with  no  better  revelation  to  guide  them, 
had  yet  made  a  law  to  themselves.  Lucretius,  indeed, 
with  such  material  as  Epicurus  furnished,  satisfied  himself 
with  the  theory  of  a  vast  machine  fortuitously  constructed, 
and  acting  by  a  law  that  implied  no  legislator;  and  so 
composing  himself  into  a  Stoical  rather  than  Epicurean 
severity  of  attitude,  sat  down  to  contemplate  the  mechan- 
ical drama  of  the  Universe  which  he  was  part  actor  in; 
himself  and  all  about  him  (as  in  his  own  sublime  de- 
scription of  the  Roman  Theatre)  discolored  with  the  lurid 

I     Professor  CowelL 


8        QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

reflex  of  the  curtain  suspended  between  the  spectator  and 
the  sun,  Omar,  more  desperate,  or  more  careless  of  any 
so  complicated  system  as  resulted  in  nothing  but  hopeless 
necessity,  flung  his  own  genius  and  learning  with  a  bitter 
or  humorous  jest  into  the  general  ruin  which  their  in- 
sufficient glimpses  only  served  to  reveal;  and,  pretending 
sensual  pleasure  as  the  serious  purpose  of  life,  only  di- 
verted himself  with  speculative  problems  of  Deity,  Des- 
tiny, Matter  and  Spirit,  Good  and  Evil,  and  other  such 
questions,  easier  to  start  than  to  run  down,  and  the  pur- 
suit of  which  becomes  a  very  weary  sport  at  last! 

With  regard  to  the  present  translation.  The  original 
Rubaiyat  (as,  missing  an  Arabic  guttural,  these  Tetra- 
stichs  are  more  musically  called)  are  independent  stanzas, 
consisting  each  of  four  lines  of  equal,  though  varied, 
prosody;  sometimes  all  rhyming,  but  oftener  (as  here 
imitated)  the  third  line  a  blank.  Somewhat  as  in  the 
Greek  alcaic,  where  the  penultimate  line  seems  to  lift 
and  suspend  the  wave  that  falls  over  in  the  last.  As 
usual  with  such  kind  of  Oriental  verse,  the  Rubaiyat 
follow  one  another  according  to  alphabetic  rhyme  —  a 
strange  succession  of  grave  and  gay.  Those  here  selected 
are  strung  into  something  of  an  eclogue,  with  perhaps  a 
less  than  equal  proportion  of  the  "  Drink  and  make-merry  " 
which  (genuine  or  not)  recurs  over-frequently  in  the 
original.  Either  way  the  result  is  sad  enough:  saddest 
perhaps  when  most  ostentatiously  merry:  more  apt  to 
move  sorrow  than  anger  toward  the  old  Tentmaker,  who, 
after  vainly  endeavouring  to  unshackle  his  steps  from 
destiny,  and  to  catch  some  authentic  glimpse  of  To- 
morrow, fell  back  upon  To-day  (which  has  outlasted  so 
many  To-morrows!)  as  the  only  ground  he  had  got  to 
stand  upon,  however  momentarily  slipping  from  under 
his  feet. 

While  the  second  Edition  of  this  version  of  Omar  was 
preparing,  M.  Nicolas,  French  Consul  at  Resht,  published 
a  very  careful  and  very  good  edition  of  the  text,  from  a 
lithograph  copy  at  Teheran,  comprising  464  Rubaiyat, 
with  translation  and  notes  of  his  own. 


INTRODUCTION  9 

M.  Nicolas,  whose  edition  has  reminded  me  of  several 
things,  and  instructed  me  in  others,  does  not  consider 
Omar  to  be  the  material  Epicurean  that  I  have  literally- 
taken  him  for,  but  a  Mystic,  shadowing  the  Deity  under 
the  figure  of  wine,  wine-bearer,  etc.,  as  Hafiz  is  sup- 
posed to  doj  in  short,  a  Sufi  Poet  like  Hafiz  and  the 
rest. 

I  cannot  see  reason  to  alter  my  opinion,  formed  as  it 
was  more  than  a  dozen  years  ago  1  when  Omar  was  first 
shown  me  by  one  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  all  I  know 
of  Oriental,  and  very  much  of  other,  literature.  He  ad- 
mired Omar's  genius  so  much,  that  he  would  gladly  have 
adopted  any  such  interpretation  of  his  meaning  as  M. 
Nicolas'  if  he  could.  2  That  he  could  not,  appears  by  his 
paper  in  the  ^*  Calcutta  Review  "  already  so  largely  quoted ; 
in  which  he  argues  from  the  Poems  themselves,  as  well 
as  from  what  records  remain  of  the  Poet's  Life. 

And  if  more  were  needed  to  disprove  M.  Nicolas'  theory, 
there  is  the  Biographical  Notice  which  he  himself  has 
,  drawn  up  in  direct  contradiction  to  the  interpretation  of 
the  Poems  given  in  his  notes.  Indeed  I  hardly  knew 
poor  Omar  was  so  far  gone  till  his  apologist  informed 
me.  For  here  we  see  that,  whatever  were  the  wine  that 
Hafiz  drank  and  sang,  the  veritable  juice  of  the  grape  it 
was  which  Omar  used,  not  only  when  carousing  with  his 
friends,  but  (says  M.  Nicolas)  in  order  to  excite  himself 
to  that  pitch  of  devotion  which  others  reached  by  cries 
and  "hurlemens,*  And  yet,  whenever  wine,  wine-bearer, 
etc.,  occur  in  the  text  —  which  is  often  enough  —  M.  Nicolas 
carefully  annotates  ^'' Dieu,'*'*  ^*- La  Divinity, ^'*  etc.:  so  care- 
fully indeed  that  one  is  tempted  to  think  that  he  was  in- 
doctrinated by  the  Sufi  with  whom  he  read  the  Poems. 
A  Persian  would  naturally  wish  to  vindicate  a  distin- 
guished countryman:  and  a  Sufi  to  enrol  him  in  his 
own  sect,  which  already  comprises  all  the  chief  poets  in 
Persia. 

1  This  was  written  in  1868. 

2  Perhaps  he  would  have  edited  the  Poems  himself  some  years  ago. 
He  may  now  as  little  approve  of  my  version  on  one  side,  as  of  M. 
Nicolas'  theory  on  the  other. 


lo        QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

What  historical  authority  has  M.  Nicolas  to  show  that 
Omar  gave  himself  up  *^  avec  passion  a  V^tude  de  la  philos- 
ophie  des  Soufis  '''*  ?  The  doctrines  of  Pantheism,  Material- 
ism, Necessity,  etc.,  were  not  peculiar  to  the  Sufi;  nor 
to  Lucretius  before  them;  nor  to  Epicurus  before  him; 
probably  the  very  original  irreligion  of  thinking  men  from 
the  first;  and  very  likely  to  be  the  spontaneous  growth 
of  a  philosopher  living  in  an  age  of  social  and  political 
barbarism,  under  shadow  of  one  of  the  Two-and-Seventy 
Religions  supposed  to  divide  the  world.  Von  Hammer 
(according  to  Sprenger's  ^^  Oriental  Catalogue  ^*)  speaks  of 
Omar  as  ^*  a  Free-thinker  and  a  great  oppone7it  of  Sufism  "/ 
perhaps  because,  v/hile  holding  much  of  their  doctrine, 
he  would  not  pretend  to  any  inconsistent  severity  of 
morals.  Sir  W.  Ouseley  has  written  a  note  to  something 
of  the  same  effect  on  the  fly-leaf  of  the  Bodleian  MS. 
And  in  two  Rubaiyat  of  M.  Nicolas'  own  Edition  Suf 
and  Sufi  are  both  disparagingly  named. 

No  doubt  many  of  these  Quatrains  seem  unaccountable 
unless  mystically  interpreted;  but  many  more  as  unac- 
countable unless  literally.  Were  the  Wine  spiritual,  for 
instance,  how  wash  the  Body  with  it  when  dead  ?  Why 
make  cups  of  the  dead  clay  to  be  filled  with  —  ^*^La  Divin- 
itP'* — by  some  succeeding  Mystic?  M.  Nicolas  himself 
is  puzzled  by  some  *^  biza7'res  ^*  and  "  trap  Orientates  * 
allusions  and  images — ^'- d'une  sensuality  quelquefois  r/- 
voltante  '*  indeed  —  which  "  les  convenances  '^  do  not  permit 
him  to  translate;  but  still  which  the  reader  cannot  but 
refer   to    "  La  Divinity.  ^^  ^     No    doubt  also    many   of    the 

I  A  note  to  Quatrain  234  admits  that,  however  clear  the  mystical 
meaning  of  such  Images  must  be  to  Europeans,  they  are  not  quoted 
without  ^'•rougissanO'*  even  by  laymen  in  Persia  — '-'- Quant  aux 
termes  de  tendresse  qui  commencent  ce  quatrain,  comme  tant  d'au- 
tres  dans  ce  recueil,  nos  lecteurs,  habituis  maintenant  d  I'Strangeti 
des  expressions  si  souvcnt  employees  par  Khiyam  pour  rendre 
ses  pensies  sur  famottr  divin,  et  a  la  singularity  de  ses  images 
trop  orientates,  d'une  sensuality  quelquefois  rdvoltante,  n'auront 
pas  de  peine  ct  se  persttader  qu^il  s'agitde  la  Divinity,  bien  que  cette 
conviction  soil  vivement  discutie  par  les  moullahs  tnusultnans  et 
metne  par  beaucoup  de  laiques,  qui  rougissent  vdritablonent  d'une 
Pareille  licence  de  leur  compatriote  a  I'^gard  des  chases  spirituellesy* 


INTRODUCTION  1 1 

Qusstrafns  in  the  Teheran,  as  in  the  Calcutta,  Copies,  are 
spurious;  such  Rubaiyat  being  the  common  form  of  epi- 
gram in  Persia.  But  this,  at  best,  tells  as  much  one 
way  as  another;  nay,  the  Sufi,  who  may  be  considered 
the  scholar  and  man  of  letters  in  Persia,  would  be  far 
more  likely  than  the  careless  epicure  to  interpolate  what 
favours  his  own  view  of  the  poet.  I  observe  that  very 
few  of  the  more  mystical  Quatrains  are  in  the  Bodleian 
MS.  which  must  be  one  of  the  oldest,  as  dated  at  Shiraz, 
A.  H.  865,  A.  D,  1460.  And  this,  I  think,  especially  dis- 
tinguishes Omar  (I  cannot  help  calling  him  by  his  —  no, 
not  Christian  —  familar  name)  from  all  other  Persian 
poets:  That,  whereas  with  them  the  poet  is  lost  in  his 
song,  the  man  in  allegory  and  abstraction,  we  seem  to 
have  the  man  —  the  bonhomme  —  Omar  himself,  with  all 
his  humours  and  passions,  as  frankly  before  us  as  if  we 
were  really  at  table  with  him,  after  the  wine  had  gone 
round. 

I  must  say  that  I,  for  one,  never  v/hoUy  believed  in 
the  mysticism  of  Hafiz.  It  does  not  appear  there  was 
any  danger  in  holding  and  singing  Sufi  Pantheism,  so 
long  as  the  poet  made  his  salaam  to  Mohammed  at  the 
beginning  and  end  of  his  song.  Under  such  conditions 
Jelaluddin,  Jami,  Attar,  and  others  sang;  using  wine 
and  beauty  indeed  as  images  to  illustrate,  not  as  a  mask 
to  hide,  the  Divinity  they  were  celebrating.  Perhaps 
some  allegory  less  liable  to  mistake  or  abuse  had  been 
better  among  so  inflammable  a  people:  much  more  so 
when,  as  some  think  with  Hafiz  and  Omar,  the  abstract 
is  not  only  likened  to,  but  identified  with,  the  sensual 
Image;  hazardous,  if  not  to  the  devotee  himself,  yet  to 
his  weaker  brethren;  and  worse  for  the  profane  in  pro- 
portion as  the  devotion  of  the  initiated  grew  warmer. 
And  all  for  what  ?  To  be  tantalized  with  images  of 
sensual  enjoyment  which  must  be  renounced  if  one  would 
approximate  a  God,  who  according  to  the  doctrine,  is 
sensual  matter  as  well  as  spirit,  and  into  whose  universe 
one  expects  unconsciously  to  merge  after  death,  without 
hope  of  any  posthumous  beatitude  in  another  world  to 
compensate    for  all    one's    self-denial    in    this.     Lucretius' 


12        QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

blind  Divinity  certainly  merited,  and  probably  got,  as 
much  self-sacrifice  as  this  of  the  Sufi;  and  the  burden  of 
Omar's  song  —  if  not  "Let  us  eat  ^^ — is  assuredly — "Let 
us  drink,  for  to-morrow  we  die !  **  And  if  Hafiz  meant 
quite  otherwise  by  a  similar  language,  he  surely  mis- 
calculated when  he  devoted  his  life  and  genius  to  so 
equivocal  a  psalmody  as,  from  his  day  to  this,  has  been 
said  and  sung  by  any  rather  than  spiritual  worshippers. 
However,  as  there  is  some  traditional  presumption, 
and  certainly  the  opinion  of  some  learned  men,  in  favour 
of  Omar's  being  a  Sufi  —  and  even  something  of  a  saint 
—  those  who  please  may  so  interpret  his  wine  and  cup- 
bearer. On  the  other  hand,  as  there  is  far  more  histor- 
ical certainty  of  his  being  a  philosopher,  of  scientific 
insight  and  ability  far  beyond  that  of  the  age  and  country 
he  lived  in;  of  such  moderate  worldly  ambition  as  be- 
comes a  philosopher,  and  such  moderate  wants  as  rarely 
satisfy  a  debauchee.  Other  readers  may  be  content  to 
believe  with  me  that,  while  the  wine  Omar  celebrates 
is  simply  the  juice  of  the  grape,  he  bragged  more  than 
he  drank  of  it,  in  very  defiance  perhaps  of  that  spiritual 
wine  which  left  its  votaries  sunk  in  hypocrisy  or  disgust. 

EDWARD    FITZGERALD. 


^ 


THE  FITZGERALD   FIRST  EDITION 


[  The  first  Edition  of  the  translation  of  Omar  Khayyam,  which 
appeared  in  iSjg,  differs  so  much  frotn  those  which  followed, 
that  it  has  been  thought  better  to  print  it  in  full,  instead  of 
merely  attempting  to  record  the  differences."] 


Awake!  for  Morning  in  the  Bowl  of  Night 

Has  flung  the  Stone  that  puts  the  Stars  to  Flight; 

And  Lo!  the  Hunter  of  the  East  has  caught 
The  Sultan's  Turret  in  a  Noose  of  Light. 


II.  .-"^ 

Dreaming  when  Dawn's  Left  Hand  was  in  the  Sky 
I  heard  a  Voice  within  the  Tavern'  cry, 

"  Awake,  my  Little  ones,  and  fill  the  Cup 
Before  Life's  Liquor  in  its  Cup  be  dry.^^ 


III. 


And,  as  the  Cock  crew,  those  who  stood  before 
The  Tavern  shouted  —  ^^  Open  then  the  Door ! 

You  know  how  little  while  we  have  to  stay, 
And,  once  departed,  may  return  no  more.^* 


IV. 

Now  the  New  Year  reviving  old  Desires, 
The  thoughtful  Soul  to  Solitude  retires, 

Where  the  White  Hand  of  Moses  on  the  Bough 
Puts  out,  and  Jesus  from  the  Ground  suspires, 

(13) 


U        QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 


V. 

Iram  indeed  is  gone  with  all  its  Rose, 

And  Jamshyd's  Sev'n-ring'd  Cup  where  no  one  knows; 

But  still  the  Vine  her  ancient  Ruby  yields, 
And  still  a  Garden  by  the  Water  blows. 


VI. 

And  David's  Lips  are  lock't;    but  in  divine 
High  piping  Pehlevi,  with  ^^  Wine !  Wine !  Wine ! 

Red  Vlinel^^ — the  Nightingale  cries  to  the  Rose 
That  yellow  Cheek  of  her's  to  incarnadine. 


VII. 


Come,  fill  the  Cup,  and  in  the  Fire  of  Spring 
The  Winter  Garment  of  Repentance  fling: 
The  Bird  of  Time  has  but  a  little  way 
To  fly  —  and  Lo!  the  Bird  is  on  the  Wing. 


VIII. 

And  look  —  a  thousand  Blossoms  with  the  Day 
Woke  —  and  a  thousand  scatter'd  into  Clay: 

And  this  first  Summer  Month  that  brings  the  Rose 
Shall  take  Jamshyd  and  Kaikobad  away. 


IX. 

But  come  with  old  Khayyam,  and  leave  the  Lot 
Of  Kaikobad  and  Kaikhosru  forgot: 

Let  Rustum  lay  about  him  as  he  will, 
Or  Hatim  Tai  cry  Supper  —  heed  them  not. 


THE   FITZGERALD   FIRST   EDITION  15 


X. 

With  me  along  some  Strip  of  Herbage  strewn 
That  just  divides  the  desert  from  the  sown, 

Where  name  of  Slave  and  Sultan  scarce  is  known. 
And  pity  Sultan  Mahmud  on  his  Throne. 


XI. 


Here  with  a  Loaf  of  Bread  beneath  the  Bough, 
A  Flask  of  Wine,  a  Book  of  Verse  —  and  Thou 

Beside  me  singing  in  the  Wilderness  — 
And  Wilderness  is  Paradise  enow. 


XII. 

^*  How  sweet  is  mortal  Sovranty !  **  —  think  some : 
Others  —  **How  blest  the  Paradise  to  come  !  ^^ 

Ah,  take  the  Cash  in  hand  and  waive  the  Rest; 
Oh,  the  brave  Music  of  a  distant  Drum! 


XIII. 

Look  to  the  Rose  that  blows  about  us — ^*  Lo, 
Laughing,  ^^  she  says,  "  into  the  World  I  blow : 

At  once  the  silken  Tassel  of  my  Purse 
Tear,  and  its  Treasure  on  the  Garden  throw.  *^ 


XIV. 

The  Worldly  Hope  men  set  their  Hearts  upon 
Turns  Ashes  —  or  it  prospers;  and  anon, 

Like  vSnow  upon  the  Desert's  dusty  Face 
Lighting  a  little  Hour  or  two  —  is  gone. 


i6       QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 


XV. 


And  those  who  husbanded  the  Golden  Grain, 
And  those  who  flung  it  to  the  Winds  Hke  Rain, 

Alike  to  no  such  aureate  Earth  are  turn'd 
As,  buried  once,  Men  want  dug  up  again. 


XVI. 

Think,  in  this  batter'd  Caravanserai 

Whose  Doorways  are  alternate  Night  and  Day, 

How  Sultan  after  Sultan  with  his  Pomp 
Abode  his  Hour  or  two,  and  went  his  way. 


XVII. 

They  say  the  Lion  and  the  Lizard  keep 

The  Courts  where  Jamshyd  gloried  and  drank  deep; 

And  Bahram,  that  great  Hunter — the  Wild  Ass 
Stamps  o'er  his  Head,  and  he  lies  fast  asleep. 


XVIII. 

I  sometimes  think  that  never  blows  so  red 
The  Rose  as  where  some  buried  Caesar  bled; 

That  every  Hyacinth  the  Garden  wears 
Dropt  in  its  Lap  from  some  once  lovely  Head. 


XIX. 

And  this  delightful  Herb  whose  tender  Green 
Fledges  the  River's  Lip  on  which  we  lean — ■ 

Ah,  lean  upon  it  lightly!  for  who  knows 
From  what  once  lovely  Lip  it  springs  unseen! 


THE   FITZGERALD   FIRST   EDITION  17 


XX. 


Ah,  my  Beloved,  fill  the  Cup  that  clears 
To-day  of  past  Regrets  and  future  Fears  — 
To-morrow  ?  —  Why,  To-morrow  I  may  be 
Myself  with  Yesterday's  Sev'n  Thousand  Years. 


XXI. 

Lo!  some  we  loved,  the  loveliest  and  best 
That  Time  and  Fate  of  all  their  Vintage  prest, 

Have  drunk  their  Cup  a  Round  or  two  before, 
And  one  by  one  crept  silently  to  Rest. 


XXII. 

And  we,  that  now  make  merry  in  the  Room 
They  left,  and  Summer  dresses  in  new  Bloom, 

Ourselves  must  we  beneath  the  Couch  of  Earth 
Descend,  ourselves  to  make  a  Couch  —  for  whom  ? 


XXIII. 

Ah,  make  the  most  of  what  we  yet  may  spend, 
Before  we  too  into  the  Dust  descend; 

Dust  into  Dust,  and  under  Dust,  to  lie, 
Sans  Wine,  sans  Song,  sans  Singer,  and  —  sans  End! 


XXIV. 

Alike  for  those  who  for  To-day  prepare, 
And  those  that  after  a  To-morrow  stare, 

A  Muezzin  from  the  Tower  of  Darkness  cries 
*'  Fools !  your  Reward  is  neither  Here  nor  There !  '* 


i8        QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 


XXV. 

V/hy,  all  the  Saints  and  Sages  who  discuss'd 
Of  the  Two  Worlds  so  learnedly,   are  thrust 

Like  foolish  Prophets  forth ;  their  Words  to  Scorn 
Are  scatter'd  and  their  Mouths  are  stopt  with  Dust. 


XXVI. 

Oh,  come  with  old  Khayyam,  and  leave  the  Wise 
To  talk;    one  thing  is  certain,   that  Life  flies; 

One  thing  is  certain,   and  the  Rest  is  Lies* 
The  Flower  that  once  has  blown  for  ever  dies 


XXVII. 

Myself  when  young  did  eagerly  frequent 
Doctor  and  Saint,   and  heard  great  Argument 

About  it  and  about:    but  evermore 
Came  out  by  the  same  Door  as  in  I  went. 


XXVIII. 

With  them  the  Seed  of  Wisdom  did  I  sow, 
And  with  my  own  hand  labour'd  it  to  grow: 

And  this  was  all  the  Harvest  that  I  reap'd' 
"I  came  like  Water,   and  like  Wind  I  go. ^* 


XXIX. 

Into  this  Universe,   and  wJiy  not  knowing, 
Nor  whence y  like  Water  willy-nilly  flowing: 

And  out  of  it,  as  Wind  along  the  Waste, 
I  know  not  whither^  willy-nilly  blowing. 


THE   FITZGERALD   FIRST   EDITION  19 


XXX. 

What,  without  asking,  hither  hurried  whence? 
And,   without  asking,  whither  hurried  hence! 

Another  and  another  Cup  to  drown 
The  Memory  of  this  Impertinence! 


XXXI. 

Up  from  Earth's  Centre  through  the  Seventh  Gate 
I  rose,   and  on  the  Throne  of  Saturn  sate, 

And  many  Knots  unravel'd  by  the  Road; 
But  not  the  Knot  of  Human  Death  and  Fate. 


XXXI-I. 

There  was  a  Door  to  which  I  found  no  Key: 
There  was  a  Veil  past  which  I  could  not  see* 

Some  little  Talk  awhile  of  Me  and  Thee 
There  seem'd  —  and  then  no  more  of  Thee  and  Me, 


XXXIII. 

Then  to  the  rolling  Heav'n  itself  I  cried. 
Asking,   "  What  Lamp  had  Destiny  to  guide 

Her  little  Children  stumbling  in  the  Dark  ?  * 
And  —  "A  blind  Understanding !  '^  Heav'n  replied. 


XXXIV. 

Then  to  this  earthen  Bowl  did  I  adjourn 
My  Lip  the  secret  Well  of  Life  to  learn: 

And  Lip  to  Lip  it  murmur'd  —  ^*  While  you  live 
Drink! — for  once  dead  you  never  shall  return.'^ 


QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 


XXXV. 

I  think  the  Vessel,  that  with  fugitive 
Articulation  answer'd,   once  did  live, 

And  merry-make;   and  the  cold  Lip  I  kiss'd 
How  many  Kisses  might  it  take  —  and  give! 


XXXVI. 

For  in  the  Market-place,  one  Dusk  of  Day, 
I  watch'd  the  Potter  thumping  his  wet  Clay: 

And  with  its  all  obliterated  Tongue 
It  murmur'd  —  "Gently,   Brother,  gently,  pray!^* 


XXXVII. 

Ah,   fill  the  Cup:  —  what  boots  it  to  repeat 
How  Time  is  slipping  underneath  our  Feet: 

Unborn  To-morrow,   and  dead  Yesterday, 
Why  fret  about  them  if  To-day  be    sweet! 


XXXVIII. 

One  Moment  in  Annihilation's  Waste, 

One  Moment,   of  the  Well  of  Life  to  taste  ^ 

The  Stars  are  setting  and  the  Caravan 
Starts  for  the  Dawn  of  Nothing— Oh,  make  haste! 


XXXIX. 

How  long,   how  long,   in  infinite  Pvirsuit 
Of  This  and  That  endeavour  and  dispute  ? 
Better  be  merry  with  the  fruitful  Grape 
Than  sadden  after  none,  or  bitter,  Fruit. 


THE   FITZGERALD   FIRST   EDITION 


XL. 

You  know,  my  Friends,  how  long   since   m   my  House 
For  a  new  Marriage  I  did  make  Carouse: 

Divorced  old  barren  Reason  from  my  Bed, 
And  took  the  Daughter  of  the  Vine  to  Spouse. 


XLI. 

For  «Is»  and  «  Is-not  »  though  luith  Rule  and  Line 
And  ^^  Up-and-down  **  without,   I  could  define, 

I  yet  in  all  I  only  cared  to  know, 
Was  never  deep  in  anything  but  —  Wine. 


XLIL 

And  lately,   by  the  Tavern  Door  agape, 

Came  stealing  through  the  Dusk  an  Angel  Shape 

Bearing  a  Vessel  on  his  Shoulder;  and 
He  bid  me  taste  of  it;  and  'twas  —  the  Grape! 


XLIIL 

The  Grape  that  can  with  Logic  absolute 
The  Two-and-Seventy  jarring  Sects  confute; 

The  subtle  Alchemist  that  in  a  Trice 
Life's  leaden  Metal  into  Gold  transmute. 


XLIV. 

The  mighty  Mahmud,  the  victorious  Lord, 
That  all  the  misbelieving  and  black  Horde 

Of  Fears  and  Sorrows  that  infest  the  Soul 
Scatters  and  slays  with  his  enchanted  Sword. 


QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 


XLV. 

But  leave  the  Wise  to  wrangle,  and  with  me 
The  Quarrel  of  the  Universe  let  be: 

And,  in  some  corner  of  the  Hubbub  coucht, 
Make  Game  of  that  which  makes  as  much  of  Thee. 


XLVI. 

For  in  and  out,  above,  about,  below, 
'Tis  nothing  but  a  Magic  Shadow-show, 

Play'd  in  a  Box  whose  Candle  is  the  Sun, 
Round  which  we  Phantom  Figures  come  and  go. 


XLVII. 

And  if  the  Wine  you  drink,   the  Lip  you  press, 
End  in  the  Nothing  all  Things  end  in  —  Yes  — 

Then  fancy  while  Thou  art,   Thou  art  but  what 
Thou  shalt  be  —  Nothing — Thou  shalt  not  be  less. 


XLVIII. 

While  the  Rose  blows  along  the  River  Brink, 
With  old  Khayyam  the  Ruby  Vintage  drink: 

And  when  the  Angel  with  his  darker  Draught 
Draws  up  to  Thee  —  take  that,  and  do  not  shrink. 


XLIX. 

'Tis  all  a  Chequer-board  of  Nights  and  Days 
Where  Destiny  with  Men  for  Pieces  plays: 

Hither  and  thither  moves,   and  mates,   and  slays. 
And  one  by  one  back  in  the  Closet  lays. 


THE   FITZGERALD   FIRST   EDITION  23' 


L. 

The  Ball  no  Question  makes  of  Ayes  and  Noes, 
But  Right  or  Left  as  strikes  the  Player  goes; 

And  He  that  toss'd  Thee  down  into  the  Field, 
He  knows  about  it  all  —  He  knows  —  HE  knows! 


LI. 

The  Moving  Finger  writes;  and,  having  writ. 
Moves  on:  nor  all  thy  Piety  nor  Wit 

Shall  lure  it  back  to  cancel  half  a  Line, 
Nor  all  thy  Tears  wash  out  a  Word  of  it. 


LII. 


And  that  inverted  Bowl  we  call  The  Sky, 
Whereunder  crawling  coop't  we  live  and  die, 
Lift  not  thy  hands  to  //  for  help  —  for  It 
Rolls  impotently  on  as  Thou  or  I. 


LIII. 

With  Earth's  first  Clay  They  did  the  Last  Man's  knead, 
And  then  of  the  Last  Harvest  sow'd  the  Seed: 

Yea,   the  first  Morning  of  Creation  wrote 
What  the  Last  Dawn  of  Reckoning  shall  read. 


LIV. 

I  tell  Thee  this  —  When,  starting  from  the  Goal, 
Over  the  shoulders  of  the  flaming  Foal 

Of  Heav'n  Parwin  and  Mushtara  they  flung. 
In  my  predestined  Plot  of  Dust  and  Soul 


24       QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 


LV. 


The  Vine  had  struck  a  Fibre;  which  about 
If  clings  my  Being  —  let  the  Sufi  flout; 

Of  my  Base  Metal  may  be  filed  a  Key, 
That  shall  unlock  the  Door  he  howls  without, 


LVI. 

And  this  I  know:  whether  the  one  True  Light, 
Kindle  to  Love,  or  Wrath  consume  me  quite, 

One  glimpse  of  It  within  the  Tavern  caught 
Better  than  in  the  Temple  lost  outright. 


LVII. 

Oh,  Thou,  who  didst  with  Pitfall  and  with  Gin 
Beset  the  Road  I  was  to  wander  in, 

Thou  wilt  not  with  Predestination  round 
Enmesh  me,  and  impute  my  Fall  to  Sin  ? 


LVIII. 

Oh,  Thou,  who  Man  of  baser  Earth  didst  make, 
And  who  with  Eden  didst  devise  the  Snake; 

For  all  the  Sin  wherewith  the  Face  of  Man 
Is  blacken'd,  Man's  Forgiveness  give  —  and  take 


THE   FITZGERALD   FIRST  EDITION  25 


KUZA-NAMA 


LIX. 


Listen  again.     One  evening  at  the  Close 
Of  Ramazan,  ere  the  better  Moon  arose, 

In  that  old  Potter's  Shop  I  stood  alone 
With  the  clay  Pooulation  round  in  Rows. 


LX. 


And,  strange  to  tell,  among  that  Earthen  Lot 
Some  could  articulate,  while  others  not: 

And  suddenly  one  more  impatient  cried  — 
**  Who  is  the  Potter,  pray,  and  who  the  Pot  ?  '* 


LXI. 

Then  said  another  —  ^^  Surely  not  in  vain 
My  substance  from  the  common  Earth  was  ta'en, 
That  he  who  subtly  wrought  me  into  Shape 
Should  stamp  me  back  to  common  Earth  again.  ^^ 


LXII. 

Another  said  —  ^*  Why,  ne'er  a  peevish  Boy, 

Would  break  the  Bowl    from  which   he    drank   in   Joy; 

Shall  He  that  viade  the  Vessel  in  pure  Love 
And  Fancy,  in  an  after  Rage  destroy !  * 


26  QUATRAINS   OF    OMAR   KHAYYAM 


LXIII. 

None  answer'd  this;  but  after  Silence  spake 
A  vessel  of  a  more  ungainly  Make: 

^^  They  sneer  at  me  for  leaning  all  awry ; 
What!  did  the  Hand  then  of  the  Potter  shake  ? '^ 


LXIV. 

Said  one  —  ^*  Folks  of  a  surly  Tapster  tell, 
And  daub  his  Visage  with  the  smoke  of  Hell; 

They  talk  of  some  strict  Testing  of  us  —  Pish! 
He's  a  Good  Fellow,  and  'twill  all  be  well.'* 


LXV. 

Then  said  another  with  a  long-drawn  Sigh, 
"  My  Clay  with  long  oblivion  is  gone  dry : 
But,   fill  me  with  the  old  familiar  Juice, 
Methinks  I  might  recover  by-and-bye  !  '* 


LXVI. 

So  while  the  Vessels  one  by  one  v/ere  speaking, 
One  spied  the  little  Crescent  all  were  seeking: 
And  then  they  jogg'd  each  other,  ^^  Brother, 
Brother ! 
Hark  to  the  Porter's  Shoulder-knot  a  creaking  !  * 


Lxvn. 

Ah,  with  the  Grape  my  fading  Life  provide, 
And  wash  my  Body  whence  the  Life  has  died, 
And  in  a  Windingsheet  of  Vine-leaf  wrapt,, 
So  bury  me  by  some  sweet  Garden-side. 


THE    FITZGERALD    FIRST   EDITION  27 


LXVIII. 


That  ev'n  my  buried  Ashes  such  a  Snare 
Of  Perfume  shall  fling  up  into  the  Air, 

As  not  a  True  Believer  passing  by 
But  shall  be  overtaken  unaware. 


LXIX. 

Indeed  the  Idols  I  have  loved  so  long 

Have  done  my  Credit  in  Men's  Eye  much  wrong: 

Have  drown'd  my  Honour  in  a  shallow  Cup, 
And  sold  my  Reputation  for  a  Song. 


LXX. 

Indeed,   indeed.    Repentance  oft  before 
I  swore  —  but  was  I  sober  when  I  swore  ? 

And  then  and  then  came  Spring,   and    Rose-in-hand 
My  thread-bare  Penitence  apieces  tore. 


LXXI. 

And  much  as  Wine  has  play'd  the  Infidel.. 
And  robb'd  me  of  my  Robe  of  Honour  —  well, 

I  often  wonder  what  the  Vintners  buy 
One  half  so  precious  as  the  Goods  they  sell. 


LXXII. 

Alas,  that  Spring  should  vanish  with  the  Rose! 
That  Youth's  sweet-scented  Manuscript  should  close  ! 

The  nightingale  that  in  the  Branches  sang, 
Ah,  whence,   and  whither  flown  again,   who  knows! 


28  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


LXXIII. 

Ah,  Love!  could  thou  and  I  with  Fate  conspire 
To  grasp  this  sorry  Scheme  of  Things  entire, 
Would  not  we  shatter  it  to  bits  —  and  then 
Re-mould  it  nearer  to  the  Heart's  Desire! 


LXXIV. 

Ah,   Moon  of  my  Delight  who  know'st  no  wane, 
The  Moon  of  Heav'n  is  rising  once  again: 
How  oft  hereafter  rising  shall  she  look 
Through  this  same  Garden  after  me  —  in  vain! 


LXXV. 

And  when  Thyself  with  shining  Foot  shall  pass 
Among  the  Guests  Star-scatter'd  on  the  Grass, 

And  in  thy  joyous  Errand  reach  the  Spot 
Where  I  made  one  —  turn  down  an  empty  Glass 

TAMAM    SHUD. 


NOTES. 

(Stanza  ii. )  The  <<  False  Dawn  » ;  Sub  hi  kazib,  a  transient  Light 
on  the  Horizon  about  an  hour  before  the  Subhi  sadik,  or  True  Dawn ; 
a  well-known  Phenomenon  in  the  East. 

(IV. )  New  Year.  Beginning  with  the  Vernal  Equinox,  it  must  be 
remembered ;  and  (howsoever  the  old  Solar  Year  is  practically  superseded 
by  the  clumsy  Lunar  Year  that  dates  from  the  Mohammedan  Hegira) 
still  commemorated  by  a  Festival  that  is  said  to  have  been  appointed 
by  the  very  Jamshyd  whom  Omar  so  often  talks  of,  and  whose  yearly 
Calendar  he  helped  to  rectify. 

<<The  sudden  approach  and  rapid  advance  of  the  Spring, »  says 
Mr.  Binning,^  "are  very  striking.  Before  the  Snow  is  well  off  the 
Ground,  the  Trees  burst  into  Blossom,  and  the  Flowers  start  forth 
from  the  Soil.  At  Now  Rooz  [their  New  Year's  Day]  the  Snow  was 
lying  in  patches  on  the  Hills  and  in  the  shaded  Valleys,  while  the 
Fruit-trees  in  the  Gardens  were  budding  beautifully,  and  green  Plants 
and  Flowers  springing  up  on  the  Plains  on  every  side  — 

<And  on  old  Hyems'  Chin  and  icy  Crown 
An  odorous  Chaplet  of  sweet  Summer  buds 
Is,  as  in  mockery,  set  >  — 

Among  the  Plants  newly  appeared  I  recognised  some  old  Acquaint- 
ances I  had  not  seen  for  many  a  Year:  among  these,  two  varieties 
of  the  Thistle  —  a  coarse  species  of  Daisy  like  the  <  Horse-gowan  >  — 
red  and  white  Clover  —  the  Dock  —  the  blue  Corn-flower  —  and  that 
vulgar  Herb  the  Dandelion  rearing  its  yellow  crest  on  the  Banks  of 
the  Water-courses.  >^  The  Nightingale  was  not  yet  heard,  for  the  Rose 
was  not  yet  blown;  but  an  almost  identical  Blackbird  and  Wood- 
pecker helped  to  make  up  something  of  a  North-country  Spring. 

"The  White  Hand  of  Moses. >>  Exodus  iv.  6;  where  Moses  draws 
forth  his  Hand  —  not,  according  to  the  Persians,  *-^  leprous  as  Snow,'*'* 
—  but  white,  as  our  May -blossom  in  Spring  perhaps.  According  to 
them  also  the  Healing  Power  of  Jesus  resided  in  His  Breath. 

(v.)  Iram,  planted  by  King  Shaddad,  and  now  sunk  somewhere 
in  the  Sands  of  Arabia.  Jamshyd's  Seven-ring'd  Cup  was  typical  of 
the  7  Heavens,  7  Planets,  7  Seas,  etc.,  and  was  a  Divining  Cup. 

I     Two  Years'  Travel  in  Persia,  etc.,  i.  165. 

(29) 


30       QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

(VI. )  Pehlevi,  the  old  Heroic  Sanskrit  of  Persia.  Hafiz  also  speaks 
of  the  Nightingale's  Pehlevi,  which  did  not  change  with  the  People's. 

I  am  not  sure  if  the  fourth  line  refers  to  the  Red  Rose  looking 
sickly,  or  to  the  Yellow  Rose  that  ought  to  be  Red;  Red,  White,  and 
Yellow  Roses  all  common  in  Persia.  I  think  that  Southey,  in  his 
« Common-Place  Book,»  quotes  from  some  Spanish  author  about  the 
Rose  being  White  till  lo  o'clock;  ^'^ Rosa  Perfecta'>'*  at  2;  and  '^'-per- 
fect a  incarnada  >>  at  5. 

(X.)  Rustum,  the  « Hercules  >>  of  Persia,  and  Zal  his  Father, 
whose  exploits  are  among  the  most  celebrated  in  the  Shahnama. 
Hatim  Tai,  a  well-known  type  of  Oriental  generosity. 

(XIII.)     A  Drum  —  beaten  outside  a  Palace. 

(XIV.)     That  is,  the  Rose's  Golden  Centre. 

(XVIII.)  Persepolis:  call'd  also  Takht.i-Jatnshyd — The  Throne 
OF  Jamshyd,  '^^  King  Splendid, ^'^  of  the  mythical  Peshdadian  Dynasty, 
and  supposed  (according  to  the  Shahnama)  to  have  been  founded 
and  built  by  him.  Others  refer  it  to  the  Work  of  the  Genie  King, 
Jan  Ibn  Jan  —  who  also  built  the  Pyramids  —  before  the  time  of  Adam. 

Bahram  Gur  —  Bahra7n  of  the  Wild  Ass  —  a  Sassanian  Sover- 
eign—  had  also  his  Seven  Castles  (like  the  King  of  Bohemia!)  each 
of  a  different  Colour;  each  with  a  Royal  Mistress  within;  each  of 
whom  tells  him  a  Story,  as  told  in  one  of  the  most  famous  Poems  of 
Persia,  written  by  Amir  Khusraw:  all  these  Seven  also  figuring  (ac- 
cording to  Eastern  Mysticism)  the  Seven  Heavens;  and  perhaps  the 
Book  itself  that  Eighth,  into  which  the  mystical  Seven  transcend,  and 
within  which  they  revolve.  The  Ruins  of  Three  of  those  Towers 
are  yet  shown  by  the  Peasantry ;  as  also  the  swamp  in  which  Bahram 
sunk  like  the   Master   of  Ravenswood  while  pursuing  his  Gur. 

The  Palace  that  to  Heav'n  his  pillars  threw, 
And  Kings  the  forehead  on  his  threshold  drew  — 

I  saw  the  solitary  Ringdove  there. 
And  *<Coo,  coo,  coo,'^  she  cried;  and  <<Coo,  coo,  coo.^' 

This  Quatrain  Mr.  Binning  found,  among  several  of  Hafiz  and 
others,  inscribed  by  some  stray  hand  among  the  ruins  of  Persepolis. 
The  Ringdove's  ancient  Pehlevi  Coo,  Coo,  Coo,  signifies  also  in  ^qx- 
sian,  ^^  Where  f  Where?  Where ?^'>  In  Attar's  « Bird- parliament »  she 
is  reproved  by  the  Leader  of  the  Birds  for  sitting  still,  and  for  ever 
harping  on  that  one  note  of  lamentation  for  her  lost  Yusuf. 

Apropos  of  Omar's  Red  Roses  in  Stanza  xix.,  I  am  reminded  of 
an  old  English  superstition,  that  our  Anemone  Pulsatilla,  or  purple 
«Pasque  Flower »  (which  grows  plentifully  about  the  Fleam  Dyke, 
near  Cambridge),  grows  only  where  Danish  blood  has  been  spilt. 

(XXI.)     A  thousand  years  to  each  Planet. 

(XXXI. )     Saturn,  Lord  of  the  Seventh  Heaven. 

(XXXII.)  Me-and-Thee:  some  dividual  Existence  or  Personality 
distinct  from  the  Whole. 


NOTES  31 

(xxxvii.)  One  of  the  Persian  Poets  —  Attar,  I  think  —  has  a  pretty 
story  about  this.  A  thirsty  Traveller  dips  his  hand  into  a  Spring 
of  Water  to  drink  from.  By  and  by  comes  another  who  draws  up 
and  drinks  from  an  earthen  Bowl,  and  then  departs,  leaving  his  Bowl 
behind  him.  The  first  Traveller  takes  it  up  for  another  draught ;  but 
is  surprised  to  find  that  the  same  Water  which  had  tasted  sweet 
from  his  own  hand  tastes  bitter  from  the  earthen  Bowl.  But  a  Voice 
—  from  Heaven,  I  think — tells  him  the  clay  from  which  the  Bowl  is 
made  was  once  Man;  and,  into  whatever  shape  renewed,  can  never 
lose  the  bitter  flavour  of  Mortality. 

(XXXIX.)  The  custom  of  throwing  a  little  Wine  on  the  ground  be- 
fore drinking  still  continues  in  Persia,  and  perhaps  generally  in  the 
East.  Mons.  Nicolas  considers  it  ^*-un  signe  de  libiralitd,  et  en 
meme  temps  un  avertisscment  qtte  le  buveur  doit  vider  sa  coupe 
jusqu'a  la  derniere  goiittey*  Is  it  not  more  likely  an  ancient  Super- 
stition ;  a  Libation  to  propitiate  Earth,  or  make  her  an  Accomplice  in 
the  illicit  Revel?  Or,  perhaps,  to  divert  the  Jealous  Eye  by  some 
sacrifice  of  superfluity,  as  with  the  Ancients  of  the  West  ?  With  Omar 
we  see  something  more  is  signified;  the  precious  Liquor  is  not  lost, 
but  sinks  into  the  ground  to  refresh  the  dust  of  some  poor  Wine- 
worshipper  foregone. 

Thus  Hafiz,  copying  Omar  in  so  many  ways:  «When  thou  drink- 
est  Wine  pour  a  draught  on  the  ground.  Wherefore  fear  the  Sin 
which  brings  to  another  Gain  ?» 

(XLiii.)  According  to  one  beautiful  Oriental  Legend,  Azrael  ac- 
complishes his  mission  by  holding  to  the  nostril  an  Apple  from  the 
Tree  of  Life. 

This  and  the  two  following  Stanzas  would  have  been  withdrawn, 
as  somewhat  de  trop,  from  the  Text,  but  for  advice  which  I  least 
like  to  disregard. 

(LI.)     From  Mah  to  Mahi;  from  Fish  to  Moon. 

(Lvi.)  A  Jest,  of  course,  at  his  Studies.  A  curious  mathematical 
Quatrain  of  Omar's  has  been  pointed  out  to  me;  the  more  curious 
because  almost  exactly  parallel'd  by  some  Verses  of  Bishop  Donne's, 
that  are  quoted  in  Izaak  Walton's  Lives!  Here  is  Omar:  «You  and 
1  are  the  image  of  a  pair  of  compasses;  though  we  have  two  heads 
(sc.  oviX  feet)  we  have  one  body;  when  we  have  fixed  the  centre  for 
our  circle,  we  bring  our  heads  (sc.  feet)  together  at  the  end.»  Dr. 
Donne:  — 

If  we  be  two,  we  two  are  so 

As  stiff  twin-compasses  are  two; 
Thy  Soul,  the  fixt  foot,  makes  no  show 

To  move,  but  does  if  the  other  do. 

And  though  thine  in  the  centre  sit. 

Yet  when  my  other  far  does  roam. 
Thine  leans  and  hearkens  after  it, 

And  grows  erect  as  mine  comes  home. 


32        QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

Such  thou  must  be  to  me,  who  must 

Like  the  other  foot  obliquely  run; 
Thy  firmness  makes  my  circle  just, 

And  me  to  end  where  I  begun. 

(lix.  )  The  Seventy -two  Religions  supposed  to  divide  the  World, 
including  Islamism,  as  some  think:  but  others  not. 

(LX.)  Alluding  to  Sultan  Mahmud's  Conquest  of  India  and  its 
dark  people. 

(Lxviii.)  Fanusi  khiyal,  2l  Magic-lantern  still  used  in  India;  the 
cylindrical  Interior  being  painted  with  various  Figures,  and  so  lightly 
poised  and  ventilated  as  to  revolve  round  the  lighted  Candle  within. 

(lxx.)     a  very  mysterious  Line  in  the  Original:  — 

O  danad  0  danad  0  danad  0 

breaking  off  something  like  our  Wood-pigeon's  Note,  which  she  is 
said  to  take  up  just  where  she  left  off. 

(Lxxv.)     Parwin  and  Mushtari  —  The  Pleiads  and  Jupiter. 

(Lxxxvii.)  This  Relation  of  Pot  and  Potter  to  Man  and  his  Maker 
figures  far  and  wide  in  the  Literature  of  the  World,  from  the  time 
of  the  Hebrew  Prophets  to  the  present;  when  it  may  finally  take  the 
name  of  <^Pot  theism, ^>  by  which  Mr.  Carlyle  ridiculed  Sterling's 
«  Pantheism.  >>  My  Sheikh,  whose  knowledge  flows  in  from  all  quarters, 
writes  to  me  — 

<^  Apropos  of  old  Omar's  Pots,  did  I  ever  tell  you  the  sentence  I 
found  in  Bishop  Pearson  on  the  Creed  ?  <  Thus  are  we  wholly  at  the 
disposal  of  His  will,  and  our  present  and  future  condition  framed  and 
ordered  by  His  free,  but  wise  and  just,  decrees.  Hath  not  the  potter 
power  over  the  clay,  of  the  same  lutnp  to  make  07ie  vessel  unto 
honour,  and  another  unto  dishonour?  (Rom.  ix.  21.)  And  can  that 
earth-artificer  have  a  freer  power  over  his  brother  potsherd 
(both  being  made  of  the  same  metal),  than  God  hath  over  him,  who, 
by  the  strange  fecundity  of  His  omnipotent  power,  first  made  the  clay 
out  of  nothing,  and  then  him  out  of  that  ?  > » 

And  again  —  from  a  very  different  quarter  —  «I  had  to  refer  the 
other  day  to  Aristophanes,  and  came  by  chance  on  a  curious  Speak- 
ing-pot story  in  the    Vespa,  which  I  had  quite  forgotten. 

^ikoiikkuv.     'Akove,  fXTJ  (peiiy'-  kv  llvfidpei.  ywfj  note     1.    1435 

Kariaf  e;)('ivov. 
Kar^yopog.  Tavr'  tyw  /xaprvpo/iai.. 

$i.  Oiixivoc  ovv  ix(JV  Tiv'  encixaprhpaTO- 

'Eld'  fj  "Zv^aplTiq  elTref,  ei  vol  rav  Kdpav 

T^  fiapTvpiav  TaitTTjv  kdaaq,  iv  raxu 

ETTidECfiov  enpia,  vovv  av  eIxe?  TvTieiova. 

«  The  Pot  calls  a  bystander  to  be  a  witness  to  his  bad  treatment. 
The  woman  says,  *If,  by  Proserpine,  instead  of   all   this  « testify ing» 


NOTES  33 

(comp.  Cuddie  and  his  mother  in  «01d  Mortality !»)  you  would  buy 
yourself  a  rivet,  it  would  show  more  sense  in  you !  >  The  Scholiast 
explains  ec/imus  as  ayyoq  tc  ck  K£pd/iov.>^ 

One  more  illustration  for  the  oddity's  sake  from  the  «  Autobiogra- 
phy of  a  Cornish  Rector, »  by  the  late  James  Hamley  Tregenna. 
1871. 

« There  was  one  old  Fellow  in  our  Company  —  he  was  so  like  a 
Figure  in  the  < Pilgrim's  Progress^  that  Richard  always  called  him 
the  <  Allegory, >  with  a  long  white  beard  —  a  rare  Appendage  in  those 
days  —  and  a  Face  the  colour  of  which  seemed  to  have  been  baked 
in,  like  the  Faces  one  used  to  see  on  Earthenware  Jugs.  In  our 
Country-dialect  Earthenware  is  called  <  Clome  >  /  so  the  Boys  of  the 
Village  used  to  shout  out  after  him  —  <  Go  back  to  the  Potter,  old 
Clome-face,  and  get  baked  over  again. >  For  the  < Allegory, >  though 
shrewd  enough  in  most  things,  had  the  reputation  of  being  saift- 
baked,  i.  e.,  of  weak  intellect. » 

(xc.)  At  the  Close  of  the  Fasting  Month,  Ramazan  (which  makes 
the  Musulman  unhealthy  and  unamiable),  the  first  Glimpse  of  the 
New  Moon  (who  rules  their  division  of  the  Year)  is  looked  for  with 
the  utmost  Anxiety,  and  hailed  with  Acclamation.  Then  it  is  that 
the  Porter's  Knot  may  be  heard  —  toward  the  Cellar.  Omar  has 
elsewhere  a  pretty.  Quatrain  about  the  same  Moon  — 

<<Be  of  Good  Cheer  —  the  sullen  Month  will  die, 
And  a  young  Moon  requite  us  by  and  by : 

Look  how  the  Old  one,  meagre,  bent,  and  wan 
With  Age  and  Fast,  is  fainting  from  the  Sky!>^ 


AN    ANALYSIS   OF 

EDWARD   FITZGERALD'S   TRANSLATION 

OF  THE 

QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 

( Fifth  Edition ) 

By  EDWARD   HERON-ALLEN 


(35) 


PREFACE 


THE  object  with  which  this  volume  has  been  compiled 
has  been  to  set  at  rest,  once  and  for  ever,  the  vexed 
question  of  how  far  Edward  FitzGerald's  incompar- 
able poem  may  be  regarded  as  a  translation  of  the  Per- 
sian originals,  how  far  as  an  adaptation,  and  how  far  as 
an  original  work.  In  the  Introduction  to  my  recently 
published  translation  of  the  Ouseley  MS.  in  the  Bodleian 
Library  at  Oxford,  and  more  particularly  in  the  Essay 
which  terminates  the  second  edition  of  that  work,  I  have 
dwelt  at  considerable  length  upon  the  history  of  Edward 
FitzGerald*s  poem  and  the  influences  of  various  Oriental 
works  which  are  traceable  in  it.  As  it  is  doubtful  whether 
the  present  volume  will  reach  the  hands  of,  or  at  any  rate  be 
critically  considered  by,  any  students  of  the  poem  who 
have  not  already  had  access  to  my  former  work,  I  do  not 
think  that  it  would  be  either  expedient  or  useful  to  re- 
peat in  this  place  the  information  which  is  collected  there, 
but  a  short  history  of  the  major  portion  of  Edward  Fitz- 
Gerald's material  is  necessary,  for  the  purpose  of  showing 
Svhy  this  question  of  translation,  adaptation,  or  original 
composition  should  have  been  a  question  open  to  lengthy 
argument,  and  why  it  has  been  impossible  to  set  it  at 
rest  until  the  present  time,  when  forty  years  have  elapsed 
since  first  Edward  FitzGerald's  poem  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  those  great  scholars  and  poets  who  rescued  it.  as 
recounted  in  the  threadbare  anecdote,  from  the  oblivion 
of  the  penny  box. 

The  influence  of  the  Ouseley  MS.  upon  the  poem  forms 
the  subject  of  the  volume  to  which  I  have  referred,  and, 
save  in  so  far  as  it  recurs  in  the  parallels  which  give  ex- 

(37) 


38        QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

cuse  for  the  present  work,  may  be  dismissed,  but  the 
doubts  which  have  sprung  up  as  to  the  extent  to  which 
Edward  FitzGerald  took,  as  his  editor,  Mr.  Aldis  Wright, 
says,  "great  liberties  with  the  original,^*  have  arisen  in 
consequence  of  the  vicissitudes  which  have  befallen  the 
rest  of  the  material  from  which  the  poet  worked  during 
the  construction  of  his  first  edition.  We  know  that  Prof. 
Cowell  made  a  copy  of  the  Ouseley  MS.  for  Edward 
FitzGerald  just  before  he  went  to  India  in  August,  1856. 
In  another  letter  he  says :  *^  I  got  a  copy  made  for  him 
from  the  one  MS.  in  the  Bengal  Asiatic  Society's  Library 
at  Calcutta  soon  after  I  arrived  in  November,  1856.  It 
reached  FitzGerald  June  14th,  1857,  as  I  learn  by  a  note 
in  his  writing.  Some  time  after  this  I  sent  him  a  copy 
of  that  rare  Calcutta  printed  edition  which  I  got  from  my 
Munshi.'*  To  possess  oneself  therefore  of  full  informa- 
tion as  to  what  material  Edward  FitzGerald  really  worked 
from  in  making  the  original  edition  of  his  poem,  it  was 
necessary  to  consult,  line  by  line,  and  word  by  word,  the 
Calcutta  MS.  (noted  as  No.  1548  in  the  Bengal  Asiatic 
Society's  Library)  and  the  Calcutta /rz«/^^ edition  of  1836, 
— in  addition,  of  course,  to  the  Ouseley  MS.  Prof.  Cowell 
most  generously  placed  at  my  disposal  his  copy  of  the 
Calcutta  MS.,  but,  as  he  himself  has  recorded,  the  copy 
was  made  by  an  inferior  scribe  in  a  hand  which  is  ex- 
ceedingly difficult  to  read.  I  therefore  communicated 
with  Mr.  A.  T.  Pringle,  Director  of  Indian  Records  in 
the  Home  Department  at  Calcutta,  himself  a  keen  and 
critical  student  of  Omar  Khayyam,  with  a  view  to  getting 
either  a  photographic  reproduction,  or  a  clean  copy  of 
this  MS.  made  for  me.  Careful  search  and  widely  spread 
enquiry  brought  to  light  the  fact  that  the  MS.  was  lost, 
stolen,  or  strayed,  so  that  Prof.  Cowell 's  copy  was  the 
only  record  left  of  this  portion  of  Edward  FitzGerald's 
material.  This  copy  I  sent  out  to  India,  and  had  copied 
by  a  good  writer,  a  copy  being  made  at  the  same  time  to 
replace  that  which  had  been  stolen. 

I  next  addressed  myself  to  the  discovery  of  "  that  rare 
Calcutta  printed  edition, ^^  of  whose  existence,  after  search- 
ing in  vain  every  European  State  library  and  many  others. 


PREFACE  39 

and  every  library  in  India  of  which  I  could  learn,  I  be- 
gan to  have  grave  doubts,  thinking  that  Prof.  Cowell  had 
inadvertently  confused  it  with  an  edition  lithographed 
simultaneously  at  Calcutta  and  Teheran  in  1836.  In  the 
summer,  however,  when  I  had  given  up  all  hope,  one  of 
Mr.  Pringle's  clerks  picked  up  a  copy  of  the  long  sought 
book  in  the  Bazar  at  Calcutta,  printed  from  type  at  Cal- 
cutta in  1836.  A  circumstance  that  greatly  adds  to  the 
interest  of  this  discovery,  whilst  at  the  same  time  it  very 
greatly  lessened  my  labours,  lies  in  the  fact  that  this  edi- 
tion is  evidently  printed  from  the  lost  Calcutta  MS.  itself, 
both  introduction  and  quatrains  being  identical  in  read- 
ings and  sequence.  A  few  quatrains,  including  the  repe- 
titions, forming  part  of  the  MS.  and  nearly  all  those 
written  in  the  margins  of  the  MS.  are  omitted,  but  nearly 
all  of  these  are  added  as  an  appendix  to  the  book,  the 
printer  explaining  in  a  short  note  that  they  were  found 
in  a  hayaz  (or  book  of  extracts),  and  were  added  in  that 
place  instead  of  in  their  diwan  ( or  alphabetical )  order  on 
account  of  their  more  than  ordinarily  antinomian  tendency. 
A  very  interesting  question  arises  hereon,  whether  these 
latter  were  printed  into  the  book  from  the  margins  of  the 
MS.  after  being  purposely  or  accidentally  omitted,  or 
whether  they  were  written  on  to  the  margin  of  the  MS. 
from  this  book  at  some  date  between  1836  and  1856.  I 
think  that  the  former  is  the  more  likely  explanation,  but 
in  the  absence  of  the  MS.  this  question  cannot  be  solved. 
I  find  myself  therefore  in  the  interesting  position  of 
having  the  whole  of  FitzGerald's  material  before  me; 
and  though  (so  perfectly  did  Edward  FitzGerald  identify 
himself  with  his  author's  habit  of  mind)  many  other 
MSS.  contain  quatrains  that  closely  resemble  his  marvel- 
lous paraphrase,  there  is  nothing  written  by  or  attributed 
to  Omar  Khayyam  which  served  FitzGerald  for  inspira- 
tion in  making  his  first  edition,  other  than  what  is  to  be 
found  in  the  three,  or  rather  two,  texts  above  referred 
to.  I  have  spoken  already  (and  at  length,  in  the  Ter- 
minal Essay  to  my  former  volume)  of  the  influences  ex- 
erted by  other  Oriental  poets  upon  his  work,  and  especially 
that   of   the    Mantik    ut-tair,  or    Parliament    of    Birds    of 


40        QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

Ferid  ud  din  Attar;  where  it  was  direct  or  exclusive  I 
have  set  it  down  in  the  parallels  which  follow.  The  re- 
sult of  my  observations  may  be  summarised  as  follows : 

Of  Edward  FitzGerald's  quatrains,  forty-nine  are  faith- 
ful and  beautiful  paraphrases  of  single  quatrains  to  be 
found  in  the  Ouseley  or  Calcutta  MSS.,  or  both.i 

Forty-four  are  traceable  to  more  than  one  quatrain, 
and  therefore  may  be  termed  "  composite  ^^  quatrains. 

Two  are  inspired  by  quatrains  found  by  FitzGerald 
only  in  Nicolas'  text. 

Two  are  quatrains  reflecting  the  whole  spirit  of  the 
original  poem. 

Two  are  traceable  exclusively  to  the  influence  of  the 
Mantik  ut-tair  of  Ferid  ud  din  Attar. 

Two  quatrains  primarily  inspired  by  Omar  were  in- 
fluenced by  the  Odes  of  Hafiz. 

And  three,  which  appeared  only  in  the  first  and  second 
editions  and  were  afterwards  suppressed  by  Edward  Fitz- 
Gerald himself,  are  not  —  so  far  as  a  careful  search 
enables  me  to  judge  —  attributable  to  any  lines  of  the 
original  texts.  Other  authors  may  have  inspired  them, 
but  their  identification  is  not  useful  in  this  case. 

The  "  fillip,  ^^  so  to  speak,  given  to  FitzGerald's  interest 
in  the  ruba'iyat,  by  the  publication  of  Monsieur  J.  B. 
Nicolas'  text  and  translation  of  464  ^'•Les  Quatrains  de 
Kh^yam^^  (Paris,  1867),  must  not  be  lost  sight  of,  and 
may  be  held  responsible  for  many,  if  not  most  of  the 
variations  and  additions  that  differentiate  the  second, 
third,  and  fourth  editions  from  the  first.  This  volume, 
as  FitzGerald  himself  records  in  his  Introduction  to  the 
second  and  subsequent  editions,  **  reminded  him  of  several 
things  and  instructed  him  in  others.**  Two  of  FitzGerald's 
later  quatrains  at  least  (Nos.  46  and  98)  come  from  that 
text,  and  these  I  have  never  seen  in  any  MS.  text;  and, 
in  seeking  the  parallels  to  the  present  volume,  I  have 
collated  exactly    5,235    ruba'iyat   in  the    original  Persian. 

I  The  precise  degree  to  which  FitzGerald  himself  deemed  it  ex- 
pedient to  adhere  to  his  original  may  be  gathered  by  referring  to 
quatrains  of  his  which  he  has  himself  declared  to  be  renderings  of 
particular  and  isolated  ruba'iyat. 


PREFACE  41 

I  have  appended  to  every  Persian  ruba'i  in  the  following 
pages,  references  to  the  texts  in  which  I  have  found  the 
same  ruba'i,  in  the  identical  form,  or  more  or  less  varied, 
and  it  will  be  observed  that,  for  the  most  part,  the 
ruba'iyat  which  inspired  FitzGerald  are  those  which  have 
so  appealed  to  the  Oriental  mind  as  to  be  represented  in 
nearly  all  the  MSS.  and  texts  under  examination.  The 
Ouseley  MS.  being  the  first  text  that  occupied  Fitz- 
Gerald's  attention,  where  his  inspirational  lines  occur 
both  in  that  MS.  and  the  Calcutta  MS.,  I  have  given  the 
Ouseley  MS.  version,  noting  any  important  variations  to 
be  found  in  the  Calcutta  MS.  It  will  be  observed  that 
FitzGerald's  tendency,  after  the  second  edition,  was  to 
eliminate  quatrains  which  were  merely  suggested  by  the 
general  tone  and  sentiment  of  the  original  poem,  and 
not  the  reflection  or  translation  of  particular  and  iden- 
tifiable ruba'iyat.  The  reader  is  especially  recommended, 
when  studying  these  parallels,  to  turn  to  the  correspond- 
ing quatrain  in  the  first  edition,  for  FitzGerald  often 
diverged  further  from  the  originals  in  making  his  sub- 
sequent variations  —  notably,  for  instance,  in  the  first  and 
forty-eighth  quatrains. 

With  regard  to  my  own  translations  of  the  originals  in 
the  following  pages,  I  may  remark  that  the  excessive 
baldness  of  the  translation  is  intentional,  for  I  deemed  it 
better  to  put  before  the  lovers  of  FitzGerald's  poem  the 
closest  and  most  unpolished  English  rendering,  rather 
than  to  attempt  to  clothe  the  literal  meaning  of  the  orig- 
inals in  graceful  phraseology. 

I  desire  to  record  in  this  place  my  most  cordial  thanks, 
for  the  invaluable  assistance  they  have  given  me  in  the 
preparation  of  this  volume,  to  Mr.  A.  T.  Pringle,  Professor 
E.  B.  Cowell,  and  Dr.  E.  Denison  Ross,  and  to  Mr.  Aldis 
Wright,  Edward  FitzGerald's  literary  executor,  and  his 
publishers  Messrs.  Macmillan,  for  their  very  kind  per- 
mission to  reproduce  in  this  volume  the  poem  which  has 
brought  it  into  existence. 

EDWARD  HERON-ALLEN. 


EXPLANATION  OF  THE  REFERENCES  IN  THE 
FOLLOWING  PARALLELS 


The    following   are    the    alternative    texts    and   transla- 
tions referred  to  in  tKe  following  parallels:  — 

O.  —  The  Ouseley  MS.  No.  140  in  the  Bodleian  Library  at  Oxford, 
dated  a.h.  865  (a.d.  1460),  containing  158  ruba'iyat.  A  fac- 
simile and  translation  with  notes,  etc.,  were  published  by  H. 
S.  Nichols,  Ltd.   (London,    1898). 

C. — The  Calcutta  MS.  No.  1548  in  the  Bengal  Asiatic  Society's  Li- 
brary at  Calcutta,  containing.  510  ruba'iyat.  The  original  has 
been  lost  or  stolen,  but  a  copy  has  been  made  from  the  copy 
made  for  Edward  FitzGerald  at  the  instance  of  Prof.  Cowell. 

L. —  The  Lucknow  lithograph.  The  edition  referred  to  is  that  of 
A.H.   1312  (a.  d.   1S94),  containing  770  ruba'iyat. 

W. —  The  text  and  metrical  translation  published  by  E.  H.  Whinfield 
(London,  Triibner,   1883),  containing  500  ruba'iyat. 

N. —  The  text  and  prose  translation  published  by  J.  B.  Nicolas  (Paris, 
Imprimerie  Imp6riale,  1867),  containing  464  ruba'iyat. 

S.P.  — The  text  lithographed  at  St.  Petersburg,  a.h.  1308  (a.d.  1888), 
containing  453  ruba'iyat.     Almost  identical  with  N. 

B. —  A  collection  of  poems  lithographed  at  Bombay,  a.h.  1297  (a.d. 
1880),  containing  756  ruba'iyat  of  Omar.  Almost  identical 
with  L. 

B.  ii.  —  The  MS.  in  the  Public  Library  at  Bankipur,  dated  a.h.  961-2 
(a.d.   1553-4),  containing  604  ruba'iyat. 

P.  —  The  MS.  in  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale,  Paris.  Suppl6ment 
Persan,  No.  823,  ff.  92-113.  Dated  a.h.  934  (a.d.  1527),  con- 
taining 349  ruba'iyat. 

P.  ii. — Seven  ruba'iyat  written  upon  blank  pages  of  MS.  of  the 
Diwan  of  Emad.  Dated  a.h.  786  (a.d.  1384).  Bibliotheque 
Nationale,  Paris.  Supplement  Persan,  No.  745.  The  handwrit- 
ing is  of  the  end  of  the  9th  or  beginning  of  the  loth  century 
of  the  Hijrah. 
(42) 


REFERENCES 


43 


P.  iii.  —  Six  ruba'iyat  written  in  a  handwriting  of  the  nth  century 
of  the  Hijrah,  on  fol.  104  of  a  MS.  collection  of  poems.  Biblio- 
theque  Nationale,  Paris.     Supplement  Persan,  No.  793. 

P.  iv. —  The  MS.  in  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale,  Paris.  Supplement 
Persan,  No.  826,  ff.  391-394.  Dated  a.h.  937  (a.d.  1530),  con- 
taining 76  ruba'iyat. 

P.  V. —  The  MS.  in  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale,  Paris.  Ancien 
Fonds.,  No.  349,  if.  181-210.  Dated  a.h.  920  (a.d.  1514),  con- 
taining 213  ruba'iyat 

T  —The  MS.  in  the  Library  of  the  Nawab  of  Tonk.  Apparently 
copied  about  A.D.  1840  principally  from  C,  containing  369  ruba- 
'iyat. 

E.C. —  The  quatrains  translated  by  Prof.  E.  B.  Cowell  in  his  article 
in  the  « Calcutta  Review,^  No.  59,  March,  1858,  p.   149. 

De  T. —  The  ten  quatrains  translated  from  the  Ouseley  MS.  by  Garcin 
de  Tassy  in  his  '^'^  Note  sur  les  Ruba'iyat  d'Omar  Khaiydm.^'* 
(Paris,  Imprimerie  Imperiale,  1857.) 

V. —  The  metrical  translation  by  John  Payne,  published  by  the  Villon 
Society  (London,  1898),  containing  845   quatrains. 


ANALYSIS   OF 
EDWARD    FITZGERALD'S   QUATRAINS 


I. 

Wake!     For  the  Sun,  who  scatter' d  into  flight 
The  Stars  before  him  from  the  Field  of  Night, 

Drives   Night   along    with  them    from  Heav'n,  and 
strikes 
The  Sultan's  Turret  with  a  Shaft  of  Light. 

This  version  of  the  opening  quatrain  is  gradually 
evolved  through  the  four  editions.  The  quatrain,  which, 
in  the  first  edition  runs: 

Awake!  for  Morning  in  the  Bowl  of  Night 

Has  flung  the  Stone  that  puts  the  Stars  to  Flight: 

And  lo!  the  Hunter  of  the  East  has  caught 
The  Sultan's  Turret  in  a  Noose  of  Light. 

is  inspired  by  C.    134. 

The  Sun  casts  the  noose  of  morning  upon  the  roofs, 
Kai  Khosru  of  the  day,  he  throws  a  stone  into  the  bowl: 
Drink  wine!  for  the  Herald  of  the  Dawn,   rising  up, 
Hurls  into  the  days  the  cry  of  ^*  Drink  ye!'^ 

Ref.:  ^L.  235,  B.  232,  C.   134,  P.  320,  T.    138. —W.  233,  V.  242. 

I  These  references  are  to  other  MSS.  and  printed  texts  and  trans- 
lations in  which  the  cited  quatrain  is  represented.  I  say  ad- 
visedly <<  represented, >^  as  the  different  texts  differ  a  good  deal. 
Often  when  a  quatrain  is  repeated  in  the  same  test,  variations 
may  be  found  in  it.  The  general  scope  of  these  variations 
may  be  appreciated  by  a  glance  at  the  notes  to  my  translation 
of  the  Ouseley  MS.  (O.).  I  do  not  propose  to  deal  with  them 
here,  excepting  where  there  are  important  differences  between 
the  Calcutta  MS.  (C. )  and  the  Ouseley,  both  of  which  were 
before  Edward  FitzGerald  and  between  which  he  had  to  choose. 

(44) 


HERON-ALLEN   ANALYSIS  OF   FITZGERALD        45 

It  is  not  surprising  that  Mr.  Aldis  Wright,  in  his  edi- 
torial note  at  the  end  of  Messrs.  Macmillan's  definitive 
edition  (London,  1890),  states  that  ^Hhe  first  stanza  is 
entirely  his  own,*^  for,  in  this  precise  form  the  ruba'i  is 
only  to  be  found  in  the  Calcutta  MS.  and  in  a  recently 
discovered  MS.  copied  largely  from  it  and  belonging  to 
the  Nawab  of  Tonk.  The  matter  rests  upon  the  word 
*  stone  *^  in  the  second  line.  The  word  means  ^Ho  fling  a 
stone  into  a  cup  or  pot,  *^  which  is  the  signal  for  ^^  striking 
camp  ^^  among  tribes  of  nomad  Arabs.  All  the  other 
texts  I  have  seen  read  wine  for  stone  which  has  made 
the  translators  (Whinfield  and  Payne)  properly  render  the 
passage  *^  pours  wme  into  the  cup.  ^^ 


IL 

Before  the  phantom  of  False  morning  died, 
Methought  a  Voice  within  the  Tavern  cried, 

"  When  all  the  Temple  is  prepared  within, 
**  Why  nods  the  drowsy  Worshipper  outside  ?  ^^ 

The  inspiration  for  this  quatrain  is  to  be  found  in  C.  5 : 

There  came  one  morning  a  cry  from  our  tavern : 
"  Ho !  our  crazy,   tavern-haunting  profligate  1 
^*  Arise !  that  we  may  fill  the  measure  with  wine, 
^^Ere  they  fill  up  our  measure  (of  life).* 

J?e/.:  L.   I,  B.   i,  C.  5.  B.  ii.   i,  T.  3.— W.   i.  N.   i,  V.  i. 

In  FitzGerald's  quatrain  there  is  traceable  the  influence 
of  one  of  the  odes  of  Hafiz,  translated  by  Prof.  Cowell 
(in  *' Fraser's  Magazine,"  September,  1854),  which  he 
greatly  admired.     The  lines  in  question  run: 

The  morning  dawns  and  the  cloud  has  woven  a  canopy, 
The  morning  draught,  my  friends,  the  morning  draught! 

I  /.  g.,  the  Saki,  or  Cupbearer,  or  Drawer  (generally  a  comely 
youth),  to  whom  a  larg«  proportion  of  Omar's  ruba'iyat  are 
addressed. 


46       QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

It  is  strange  that  at  such  a  season 
They  shut  up  the  wine  tavern!     Oh,  hasten! 
Have  they  still  shut  up  the  door  of  the  tavern  ? 
Open,  oh  thou  Keeper  of  the  Gates!  ^ 

The  influence  of  these    lines  is  carried  on   into   the   next 
quatrain. 


III. 

And,  as  the  Cock  crew,  those  who  stood  before 
The  Tavern  shouted — ^*  Open  then  the  Door! 

You  know  how  little  while  we  have  to  stay. 
And,  once  departed,  may  return  no  more.'* 

The  inspiration  for  this  quatrain  is  found  in  four 
ruba'iyat  of  the  Calcutta  MS.,  viz.:  641,  207  (11.  3  and  4), 
273,   247. 

It  is  the  hour  for  the  morning  draught,  and  the  cock- 
crow, O  Saki, 

Here  are  we,  and  the  wine,  and  the  street  of  the 
vintners,   O  Saki, 

What  time  is  this  for  devotions  ?     Be  silent,  O  Saki, 

Let  be  the  traditions,  2  and  drink  to  the  dregs,  O  Saki, 

Ref. :  L.  685,  B.  676,  C.  461,  S.  P.  448,  B.  ii.  599.— W.  483,  N.  454, 
V.  737- 

Thou  must  drink  wine,  and  gratify  the  pleasures  of 
thy  heart, 

It  is  clear  that  so  long  (and  no  longer)  thou  wilt  re- 
main in  this  world. 

Ref.  :  L.   281,   B  277,   C.   207.— V.   285. 

1  Many    parallels    between    these    translations    of   Hafiz    and   Fitz- 

Gerald's  ruba'iyat  may  be  found  in  the  Terminal  Essay  to  my 
former  work. 

2  The    sunnat,   or     Traditions    of    Muhammad,    supplementing    the 

Qur'an,  and  held  in  almost  equal  reverence 


HERON-ALLEN   ANALYSIS   OF   FITZGERALD        47 

O  Essence  of  Delight!     Arise,  it  is  the  dawn! 

Softly,  softly  drink  wine,  and  play  the  harp 

For  those  who  are  asleep  do  not  find  much, 

And  none  of  those  who  are  gone  will  ever  come  back. 

Ref.  :  L.  431,  B.  427,  P.  289,  C.  273,  B.  ii.  307,  T.  173,  P.  v.  163. 
—  N.  235,  V.  469. 

It  is  the  dawn!  Arise,  O  strange  boy! 
Fill  up  the  crystal  cup  with  ruby  wine. 
For  this  moment  (of  existence)  that  is  lent  thee  in  this 

corner  of  mortality 
Thou  may'st  seek  long,  but  thou  shalt  not  find  it  again. 

J?g/.:   L.  402,  B.  398,    P.  224,    S.  P.  213,  C.  247,   B.  ii.  282,  P.  iv. 
21. —  N.  214,  V.  425. 


IV. 


Now  the  New  Year  reviving  old  Desires, 
The  thoughtful  Soul  to  Solitude  retires, 

Where  the  White  Hand  of  Moses  on  the  Bough 
Puts  out,  and  Jesus  from  the  Ground  suspires. 

This   quatrain   is   translated   from   two  ruba'iyat  in  the 
Ouseley  MS.,   13  and  80. 

Now   that   there   is  a  possibility   of  happiness   for   the 

world, 
Every  living  heart  1   has  yearnings  towards  the  desert, 
Upon  every  bough  is  the  appearance  of  Moses'  hand, 
In  every  breeze  is  the  exhalation  of  Jesus'  breath.  2 

Re/.:  P.   194,  O.   13.  — W.   116. 

1  Zendha  deli-ra  means  the  heart  alive,  or  initiated  in  the  spiritual 

sense,  as  opposed  to  the  mere  pleasure-seekers  of  the  world. 

2  See  FitzGerald's  notes  to  this  quatrain. 


48        QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

Now    is   the   time    when   by   the    spring    breezes  ^   the 

world  is  adorned, 
And  in  hope  of  rain  it  opens  its  eyes,  2 
The  hands  of  Moses  appear  like  froth  upon  the  bough, 
And  the  breath  of  Jesus  comes  forth   from   the  earth. 

Ref.:   O.  80,    L.  272.    B.  268,    C.  204,  S.    P.   186,  P.    157.  — W.  201, 
N.  186,  V.  276. 


V. 

Iram  indeed  is  gone  with  all  his  Rose, 

And  Jamshyd's  Sev'n-ring'd  Cup  where  no  one  knows; 

But  still  a  Ruby  kindles  in  the  Vine, 
And  many  a  Garden  by  the  Water  blows. 

This  is  a  very  composite  quatrain,  which  cannot  be 
claimed  as  a  translation  of  all,  or  the  main  part  of  any, 
of  the  C.  or  O.  quatrains.  All  the  texts,  as  indeed  all 
Persian  poetry,  are  filled  with  references  of  which  we 
find  an  echo  here.  In  the  authorities  at  our  disposal, 
Jamshyd  is  referred  to  in  C.  254.  The  Ruby  in  the  Wine 
occurs  in  O.  39,  87,  149,  and  in  C.  296,  304,  413,  and  460. 
The  Garden  by  the  Water  occurs  in  O.  151  (C.  415),  and 
in  C.  44  and  417.  I  have  never  found  any  reference 
to  the  Garden  of  Iram  in  quatrains  attributed  to  Omar 
Khayyam.  3 


VI. 

And  David's  lips  are  lockt;  but  in  divine 
High-piping   Pehlevi,    with    **Wine!   Wine!   Wine! 

Red   Wine !  ^^  —  the  Nightingale   cries   to   the  Rose 
That  sallow  cheek  of  hers  to  'incarnadine. 

This  quatrain   (eliminating  the   reference  to  David*)  is 
translated  from  O.   67. 

1  C.  reads  «  verdure. » 

2  C.  reads  «In  the  eyes  of  the  clouds  the  veils  are  parted. » 

3  See  the  Terminal  Essay  above  referred  to. 

4  The    sweet    voice   of    David   recurs  continually   in  Persian   poetry. 

We  find  it  in  C.  89  et  passitn. 


HERON-ALLEN  ANALYSIS   OF   FITZGERALD        49 

It  is  a  pleasant  day,  and  the  weather  is  neither  hot  nor 

cold ; 
The   rain   has   washed   the   dust  from  the  faces  of  the 

roses ; 
The  nightingale  in  the  Pehlevi  tongue  ^  to  the  yellow  2 

rose 
Cries  ever:   ^^  Thou  must  drink  wine!  ^* 

Ref.  :  O.  67,  L.  291,  B.  287,  S.  P.  153,  P.  230.  —  W.  174,  N.  153,  V.  294. 


VII. 


Come,  fill  the   Cup,  and  in  the  fire  of  Spring 
Your  Winter-garment  of  Repentance  fling: 
The   Bird  of  Time  has  but  a  little  way 
To  flutter  —  and  the  Bird  is  on  the  Wing. 

This  is  another  composite  quatrain,  and  the  similarity  of 
its  sentiment  to  that  of  No.  94  {post)  makes  it  somewhat 
difficult  to  allocate  the  parallels  to  it.  The  first  two  lines 
come  from  two  quatrains  in  C.  431   and  460  (11.  i  and  2). 

Every  day  I  resolve  to  repent  in  the  evening, 
Repenting  of  the  brimful  goblet,  and  the  cup; 
(But)  now  that  the  season  of  roses  has  come,  I  cannot 

grieve, 
Give  penitence  for  repentance  3  in  the  season  of  roses, 

O  Lord! 

Re/.:  C.  431,  L.  655,  B.  647,   B.  ii.  510. —  W.  425,  V.  704. 

The  flowers  are  blooming,  bring  wine,  O   Saki, 
Abandon  the  practices  of  the  zealot,   O  Saki. 

Re/.  :  C.  460,  L.  684,   B.  675,   B.   ii.   540.—  V.   736. 

I     Pehlevi    was  the    language    of    the    ancient    Persians  of  pre-Mu- 

hammadan  times.     FitzGerald's  description  of  it  as  «old  heroic 

Sanskrit »  is  erroneous. 
3    Yellow  is  the  colour    indicative    in  Persian  literature   of   sickness 

or  misery,  corresponding  to  our  word  "  sallow. >> 
3    /.  e.,  «  Permit  us  to  regret  our  repentance.  >* 

4 


so        QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

The  image  of  the  flight  of  time  permeates  the  whole 
of  the  quatrains.  The  precise  image  that  FitzGerald 
uses  in  11.  3  and  4  I  find  in  the  24th  distich  of  the  Mantik 
ut-tair  of  Ferid  ud  din  Attar: 

The  bird  of  the   sky  flutters  along  its  appointed  path. 


VIII.* 


Whether  at  Naishapur  or  Babylon, 
Whether  the  Cup  with  sweet  or  bitter  run, 

The  Wine  of  Life  keeps  oozing  drop  by  drop, 
The   Leaves  of  Life  keep  falling  one  b}^  one. 

This  quatrain  is  taken  mainly  from  O.  47  (C.  123).  It 
does  not  occur  in  the  first  edition,  and  FitzGerald  was 
evidently  "  reminded  of  it  *^  by  Nicolas,  in  whose  reading 
of  the  text,  alone,  the  town  of  Naishapur  is  mentioned 
instead  of  Balkh.  Balkh  and  Babylon  are  constantly 
interchanged  in  Persian  belles  Icttres. 

Since  life  passes;  what  is  Baghdad  and  what  is  Balkh  ? 
When    the    cup    is    full,    what   matter   if  it  be   sweet  or 

bitter  ?  1 
Drink  wine,   for  often,  after  thee  and  me,   this  moon 
Will  pass  on  from  the  last  day  of  the  month  to  the  first, 

and  from  the  first  to  the  last. 

Rcf.:  O.  47,  L.  299.  B.  226,  C.  123,  S.  P.  105,  P.  51,  T.  99.— W. 
134,  N.   105,  E.  C.  2,  V.  236. 

If  closer  reference  for  line  3  be  required,  it  may  be 
found  in  N.    18,  11.   3  and  4. 

*  Numbers  of  quatrains  distinguished  by  the  asterisk  indicate  that 
the  quatrains  were  not  in  FitzGerald's  first  edition,  but  made  their 
appearance  in  the  second  or  subsequent  editions.  FitzGerald  may 
therefore  have  been  ^<  reminded  of  >>  them  by  (and  in  some  instances 
took  them  direct  from)  the  text  and  translation  of  Nicolas,  referred 
to  as  N. 
I     C.  reads  « Since  life  passes,  what  is  sweet  and  what  is  bitter  ?» 


HERON-ALLEN   ANALYSIS    OF    FITZGERALD         51 

Whether  our  Saki  holds  the    neck  of    the    bottle   in    his 

hand, 
Or  the  soul  of  wine  oozes  over  the  rim  of  the  cup. 

Ref.:  L.   35,   B.   32,   S.   P.   18.— W.  21,  N.   18,  V.  33. 

^^  The  leaves  of  life  '^  recur  constantly  either  as  leaves 
of  a  tree,  or  of  a  book.  FitzGerald's  inspiration  comes 
from  C.   377,  11.    I  and  2.     {Vide  also  sub.   No.   9.) 

At  the  moment  when  I  flee  from  destiny, 

And  fall  like  the  leaf  of  the  vine,  from  the  branch. 

Ref.:  C.  377,  L.  574,  B.  567,  S.  P.  265,  B.  ii.  353,  T.  249.— W. 
309,  N.  266,  V.  614. 


IX. 

Each  Morn  a  thousand  Roses  brings,  you  say; 
Yes,  but  where  leaves  the  Rose  of  Yesterday  ? 
And  this  first  Summer  month  that  brings 
the  Rose 
Shall  take  Jamshyd  and  Kaikobad  away. 

This  quatrain  owes  its  origin  to  three  separate  ruba'iyat, 
viz.:  O.  135  (11.  3  and  4)  C.  500  (11.  i  and  2),  C.  481 
(11.   3  and  4). 

Sit  in  the  shade    of   the   rose,   for,   by   the    wind,  many 

roses 
Have  been  scattered  to  earth  and  have  become  dust. 

Ref.:  O.  135,  L.  671,  B.  663,  S.  P.  366,  B.  ii.  483,  T.  277.  — W. 
414,  N.  370,  V.  720. 

By  the  coming  of  Spring  and  the  return  of  Decemberi 
The  leaves  of  our  life  are  continually  folded. 

Ref.:  C.  500,  L.  745,  B.  731,  P.  242,  S.  P.  397,  B.  ii.  531.— W. 
444,  N.  402,  V.  797. 

I     Dai  is   the   month   that  ushers  in  the   winter  quarter   of  the  Mu- 
hammadan  year. 


52        QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

For  it  has  flung  to  earth  a  hundred  thousand  Jams  and 

Kais,i 
This  coming  of   the  first-summer-month   and   departing 

of  the  month  December. 

Ref.:   C.    481,    L.  712,    B.    701,    S.  P.    449,  P.  216,  B.  ii.  603.— W. 
484,  N.  455,  V.  764. 


X. 

Well,  let  it  take  them!     What  have  we  to  do 
With  Kaikobad  the  Great,   or  Kaikhosru  ? 

Let  Zal*  and  Rustum  bluster  as  they  will, 
Or  Hatim  call  to  supper  —  heed  not  you. 

The  first  two  lines  of  this  quatrain  echo  two  fragments 
from  the  MSS.:  O.  139  (11.  3  and  4),  and  C.  57  (11.  i 
and  2). 

The  cup  is  a  hundred  times  better  than  the  kingdom  of 

Feridun,2 
The  tile  that  covers  the  jar  is  better  than  the  crown  of 

Kai  Khosru, 

Ref.:  O.  136,  L.  650,  B.  642,  S.  P.  378,  P.  246,  B.  ii.  511,  P.  v. 
178.— N.   382,  V.  609. 

One  draught  of  wine  is  better  than  the  Empire  of  Kawus, 
And  is  better  than  the  Throne  of  Kobad  and  the  Em- 
pire of  Tus. 

Re/.:  C.   57,   L.    122,   B.    119,  S.  P.  6r,  P.  397.— W.  64,  N.  61,  V.  121. 

I     z'.e.,  Jamshyd  the  '-'- Rot  soleiP^  of   early  Persian   history,   and   the 
Kaianian  dynasty  —  Kai  Kobad,   Kai  Kawus,  Kai  Khosru,  etc. 
*It  will  be  observed  that  the  introduction  of  Zal  in   this   line    was 
made  by   FitzGerald   in   the   third  edition   for  metrical   effect.     The 
versions  in  the  first  edition  «Let  Rustum  lay  about  him  as   he  will,** 
and   in   the    second    «Let  Rustum    cry  <to   battle*  as   he   likes,**  are 
closer  to  the  phrase  in  the  original  <<  Rustum  son  of  Zal.  ** 
2.     Feridun  was  the  sixth  king  of  the  Paish-dadian  dynasty.    Jamish 
is  evidently  an  error  for  Jam-ist.      Vide  the  MS. 


HERON-ALLEN   ANALYSIS    OF    FITZGERALD         53 
The  last  two  lines  are  translated  from  C.  503  (11.  3  and  4). 

Bow  not  thy  neck  though  Rustum  son  of  Zal  be  thy  foe, 
Be  not  grateful  though  Hatim  Tai  befriend  thee.i 

Ref.:  C.   503,  L.  746,  B.   732    S.   P.  411,    P.   150,    B.    ii.   552,  P.  iv. 
23.— W.  455,  N.  416.  V.  798. 


XI. 


With  me  along  the  strip  of  Herbage  strown 
That  just  divides  the  desert  from  the  sown, 

Where  name  of  Slave  and  Sultan  is  forgot - 
And  Peace  to  Mahmud  on  his  golden  Throne  ! 


XII. 


A  Book  of  Verses  underneath  the  Bough, 

A  Jug  of  Wine,  a  Loaf  of  Bread  —  and  Thou 

Beside  me  singing  in  the  Wilderness  — 
Oh,  Wilderness  were  Paradise  enow! 

This   pair   of   quatrains   must    be    considered    together. 
They  owe  their  origin  to  O.    155  and  O.    149. 

If  a  loaf  of  wheaten  bread  be  forthcoming, 

A  gourd  of  wine,  and  a  thigh-bone  of  mutton. 

And  then,  if  thou  and  I  be  sitting  in  the  wilderness, — 

That  were  a  joy  not  within  the  power  of  any  Sultan. 

Ref.:  O.   155,  C.  474,  L.  697,  B.  688,  S.  P.  442,  P.  229,  B.  ii.  591, 
T.  292,  P.  iv.  24,  P.  V.  109. — W.   479,  N.  448,  V.  749. 

I  desire  a  flask  of  ruby  wine  and  a  book  of  verses 
Just  enough  to  keep  me  alive, 2  and  half  a  loaf  is  needful, 
And  then,  that  thou  and  I  should  sit  in  the  wilderness, 
Is  better  than  the  kingdom  of  a  Sultan. 

Ref.:  O.  149,  S.  P.  408.— W.  452,  N.  413,  E.  C.  13. 

1  See  FitzGerald's  note  to  this  quatrain. 

2  Literally  «a  stopper  of  the  last  breath. » 


54  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 

XIII. 

Some  for  the  Glories  of  This  World;  and  some 
Sigh  for  the  Prophet's  Paradise  to  come; 

Ah,  take  the  Cash,  and  let  the  Credit  go 
Nor  heed  the  rumble  of  a  distant  Drum  I 

The  original  of  this  quatrain  is  found  in  O.   34. 

They  say  that  the  Garden  of  Eden  is  pleasant  with 

houris : 
/  say  that  the  juice  of  the  grape  is  pleasant. 
Hold  fast  this  cash  and  keep  thy  hand  from  that  credit, 
For  the  noise  of  drums,  brother,   is  pleasant  from  afar. 

Ref.:  O.  34,  C.  51,  L-  95.  B.  91.  P-  i"-  3.  P-  323.  P-  v.  36.— W.  108.  V.  95. 

C.    156  is  almost  identical  in  sentiment: 

They  say  that  there  will  be  heaven  and  the  Fount  of 

Kausar,! 
That  there,  there  will  be  pure  wine  and  honey  and  sugar. 
Fill  up  the  wine-cup  and  place  it  in  my  hand, 
(For)  ready  cash  is  better  than  a  thousand  credits. 

Ref.:  C.  156,  L  297,  B.  293,8.  P.  169,  B.  ii.  223,  T.  141.  — N.  169,  V.  300. 

C.   288    reproduces    the    same    image,    and    we    have    a 
parallel  for  11.    i  and  2  in  11.    i  and  2  of  C.   225. 

Mankind  are  fallen  from  vain  imagining  into  pride. 
And  are  consumed  in  the  search  after  houris  and 
palaces.  2 

Ref.:  C.  225,  L.  279,  B.  275,  S.  P.  167,  T.  163.  — W.  184.  N.  167,  V.  283. 

1  Kausar,   in  Persian  mythology',   is  the  head-stream    of  the  Muham- 

madan  Paradise,  whence  all  other  rivers  are  supposed  to  flow. 
A  whole  chapter  of  the  Qur'an  is  devoted  to  this  miraculous 
stream,  whose  Saki  is  Ali,  the  son-in-law  of  Muhammad. 

2  This  Persian  here  is  a  quotation  from  a  famous  verse  in  the  Qur'an, 

XXV.  II,  <<  Blessed  is  He  who,  if  He  pleaseth,  will  make  for 
thee  a  better  provision  than  this,  namely,  gardens  under  which 
rivers  flow,  and  he  will  provide  thee  palaces.  >>  —  E.  B.  C. 


HERON-ALLEN   ANALYSIS    OF    FITZGERALD         55 

O.  40  may  also  be  cited  for  the  closeness  of  its  parallel 
both  to  this,   and  to  the  preceding  quatrain: 

I  know  not  whether  he  who  fashioned  me 
Appointed  me  to  dwell  in  heaven  or  in  dreadful  hell, 
(But)  some  food,   and  an  adored    one,  and    wine  1  upon 

the  green  bank  of  a  field  — 
All  these  three  are  present  cash  to  me:  thine  be  the 

promised  heaven ! 

Ref.:  O.  40,  L.  89,  B.  85,  C.   107,  S.  P.  92,  T.  84,  P.  v.   176.— W. 
94,  N.  92,  V.  89. 

XIV. 

Look  to  the  blowing  Rose  about  us  —  *^  Lo, 
Laughing, ''  she  says,   "  into  the  world  I  blow, 

At  once  the  silken  tassel  of  my  Purse 
Tear,  and  its  Treasure  on  the  Garden  throw.* 

This  quatrain  is  translated  from  C.    383 

The  rose  said:     I  brought  a  gold-scattering  hand, 
Laughing,  laughing,  have  I  blown  into  the  world, 
I  snatched  the  noose-string  from  off  the  head  of  my 

purse  and  I  am  gone ! 
I  flung  into  the  world  all  the  ready  money  that  I  had. 

Ref.:  C.  383  only. 

XV. 

And  those  who  husbanded  the  Golden  grain. 
And  those  who  flung  it  to  the  winds  like  Rain, 

Alike  to  no  such  aureate  Earth  are  turn'd 
As,  buried  once.   Men  want  dug  up  again. 

The  inspiration  for  this  quatrain  comes  from  O,   68. 

I     C.  reads  for  «food»  and  «wine,>>  << goblet >>  and  «lute,>>  whence  we 
get  «thou  beside  me  singing  in  the  wilderness. » 


56        QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

Ere  that  fate  makes  an  attack  upon  thy  head 
Give  orders  that  they  bring  thee  rose-coloured  wine; 
Thou  art  not  treasure,  O  heedless  dunce!  that  thee 
They  hide  in  the  earth  and  then  dig  up  again.  ^ 

Ref.:  O.  68,  C.    151,   L.   277,   B.  273.   S.   P.    156,   P.   336,   P.   v.   11. 
W.  175,  N.   156,  E.  C.  31,  V.  281. 


XVI. 


The  Worldly  Hope  men  set  their  Hearts  upon 
Turns  Ashes  —  or  it  prospers;  and  anon, 

Like  Snow  upon  the  Desert's  dusty  Face, 
Lighting  a  little  hour  or  two — -is  gone. 

The  inspiration  for  this  quatrain  is  to  be  found  in  C. 
266. 

O  heart!     Suppose  all  this  world's  affairs  were  within 

your  power. 
And  the  whole  world  from  end  to  end  as  you  desire  it. 
And  then,  like  snow  in  the  desert,  upon  its  surface 
Resting  for  two  or  three  days,  understand    yourself   to 

be  gone ! 

Ref.:  C.  266,  L.  420,  B.  416,  P.   144,  B.  ii.  260,  T.   168.— V.  443. 


xvn. 


Think,  in  this  batter'd  Caravanserai 
Whose  Portals  are  alternate  Night  and  Day, 
How  Sultan  after  Sultan  with  his  Pomp 
Abode  his  destined  Hour,  and  went  his  way. 

This  quatrain  owes  its  origin  to  C.   95. 

I  These  two  lines  refer  to  the  practice  in  the  East  of  burying 
treasure  to  hide  it  when  a  night  attack  (line  i)  of  dacoits  or 
robbers  is  anticipated. 


HERON-ALLEN   ANALYSIS   OF   FITZGERALD        57 

This  worn  caravanserai  which  is  called  the  world 

Is  the  resting-place  of  the  piebald  horse  of  night  and 
day; 

It  is  a  pavilion  which  has  been  abandoned  by  an  hun- 
dred Jamshyds; 

It  is  a  palace  that  is  the  resting-place  of  an  hundred 
Bahrams.  ^ 

Ref.:  C.  95,  L.  203,  B.  200,  S.  P.  67,  P.  120,  B.  ii.  42,  T.  79  and  357. — 
W.  70,  N.  67,  V,  199. 


XVIII. 


They  say  the  Lion  and  the  Lizard  keep 

The  Courts  where  Jamshyd  gloried  and  drank  deep: 

And  Bahram,  that  great  Hunter — the  Wild  Ass 
Stamps  o'er  his  Head,  but  cannot  break  his  Sleep. 

The  original  of  this  quatrain  is  C.  99. 

In  that  palace  where  Bahram  grasped  the  wine-cup; 
The  foxes  whelp,  and  the  lions  take  their  rest; 
Bahram  who  was    always   catching  (g'ur)  wild    asses, — 
To-day  behold  that   the   {gur)   grave  has   caught   Bah- 
ram. 

Re/..'  C.  99,  L.  210,  B.  207,  S.  P.  69,  P.  48  and  139,  B.  ii.  51,  T.  82  and 
294,  P.  iv.  12,  P.  V.  156. — W.  72,  N.  69,  V.  205. 


XIX. 


I  sometimes  think  that  never  blows  so  red 
The  Rose  as  where  some  buried  Caesar  bled 

That  every  Hyacinth  the  Garden  wears 
Dropt  in  her  Lap  from  some  once  lovely  Head. 

The  original  of  this  quatrain  is  found  in  O.  43. 

I     See   FitzGerald's   note    upon   this   hero,    and   the   following   quat- 
rain. 


58        QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYVAM 

Everywhere  that  there  has  been  a  rose  or  tulip  bed, 
It    has    come    from    the    redness    of    the    blood    of    a 

king; 
Every  violet  shoot  that  grows  from  the  earth 
Is    a    molei    that    was    (once)    upon    the    cheek    of    a 

beauty. 

Ref.:     O.  43,  C.  47,  L.  no,  B.  106,  B.  ii.   105,  T.  304,  P.  v.  159. — W. 
104,  E.  C.  4,  V.  109. 

XX. 

And  this  reviving  Herb  whose  tender  Green 
Fledges  the  River-lip  on  which  we  lean  — 
Ah,  lean  upon  it  lightly!  for  who  knows 
From  what  once  lovely  Lip  it  springs  unseen! 

The  original  of  this  quatrain  was  C.  44. 

All  verdure  that  grows  upon  the  margin  of  a  stream, 

You  may  say,  grows  from  the  lip  of  one  angel- 
natured ; 

Beware  not  to  set  foot  contemptuously  upon  the  ver- 
dure, 

For  that  verdure  grows  from  the  clay  of  one  tulip- 
cheeked. 

Ref.:     C.  44,   L.  62,   B.  59,  S.  P.  59,  P.  64,  T.  349,  P.  iv.  20.— W.  62, 
N.  59,  V.  61. 


XXL 

Ah,  my  Beloved,   fill  the  Cup  that  clears 
To-day  of  past  Regrets  and  future  Fears: 

To-morrow  !  —  Why,  To-morrow  I  may  be 
Myself  with  Yesterday's  Sev'n  thousand  Years. 

This  quatrain  is  translated  from  C.  348. 

I     Moles  or  <<  beauty  spots  >>  are  very  highly  esteemed  in  the  East. 


HERON-ALLEN   ANALYSIS   OF   FITZGERALD         59 

Come,  O  friend!  and  let  lis  not  suffer  anguish  concern- 
ing the  morrow, 

Let  us  take  advantage  of  these  few  ready-money 
moments, 

When,  to-morrow,  we  depart  from  the  face  of  the 
earth 

We  shall  be  equal  with  those  who  went  seven  thousand 
years  ago. 

Ref.:    C.  348,  L.  546,  B.  540,  S.  P.  26S,  P.  122,  B.  ii.  351,  T.  233,  P.  v. 
96.— W.  312,  N.  269,  V.  586. 


XXII. 


For  some  we  loved,  the  loveliest  and  the  best 
That  from  his  Vintage  rolling  Time  hath  prest, 

Have  drunk  their  Cup  a  Round  or  two  before, 
And  one  by  one  crept  silently  to  rest. 

The  inspiration  for  this  quatrain  is  found  in  C.    185. 

All  my  sympathetic  friends  have  left  me. 
One  by  one  they  have  sunk  low  at  the  foot  of    Death. 
In  the  fellowship  of  souls  they  were  cup-companions, 
A  turn  or  two  before  me  they  became  drunk. 

Ref.:    C.  185,  L.  381,  B.  377,  P.  ii.  4,  B.  ii.  141.— W.  219,  V.  379. 


XXIII. 


And  we,  that  now  make  merry  in  the  Room 
They  left,  and  Summer  dresses  in  new  bloom. 

Ourselves  must  we  beneath  the  Couch  of  Earth 
Descend  —  ourselves  to  make  a  Couch  —  for  whom? 

The   main  inspiration  of   this   quatrain  comes  from   C. 
388. 


6o        QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

Arise,  and  do  not  sorrow  for  this  fleeting  world, 
Be  at  peace,  and  pass  through  the  world  with  happiness. 
If  the  nature  of  the  world  were  constant 
The  turn  of  others  would   not   have    descended  to  you 
yourself.  ^ 

Ref.  ■  C.  388,  L.  585,  B.  578,  S.  P.  322,  P.  159  and  178.  B.  ii.  430,  T. 
264,  P.  iv.  29  and  62. —  W.  366,  N.  325,  V.  632. 

Combined  with  the  suggestion  contained  in  this  ruba'i, 
we  find  the  echo  of  a  sentiment  that  recurs  continually 
in  the  originals,  e.g.^  C.  82  (11.  3  and  4)  and  O.  129  (11.  3 
and  4). 

This  verdure,  which  for  the  present  is  my  pleasure- 
ground 

Until  the  verdure  (springing)  from  my  clay  shall  be- 
come a  pleasure-ground  —  for  whom  ? 

Ref.:  C.  82,  L.  191,  B.  1S8,  S.  P.  70,  P.  305,  B.  ii.  36,  T.  63  and  351. 
—  W.  73,  N.  70,  V.  187. 

Sit  upon  the  greensward,  O  Idol,  for  it  will  not  be  long 
Ere  that  greensward  shall  grow  from  my  dust  and  thine. 

Ref.  :  O.  129,  C.  416,  L.  634,  B.  626.  S.  P.  345,  P.  47.  B.  ii.  464,  P.  v. 
131.— W.  390,  N.  348,  E.  C.  3,  V.  683. 


XXIV. 

Ah,  make  the  most  of  what  we  yet  may  spend, 
Before  we  too  into  the  Dust  descend; 

Dust  into  Dust,  and  under  Dust  to  lie, 
Sans  Wine,  sans  Song,  sans  Singer,  and  —  sans  End! 

The   inspiration    for   this    quatrain  is  found  in  the    fol- 
lowing (O.  76  and  35), 

1     i.  e..   If  life  were  eternal,   you   could   not  take  the  place    of    others 
who  have  died  before  you.     L.   2,  ///..•  <'let  the  world  pass,  etc.* 


HERON-ALLEN   ANALYSIS    OF    FITZGERALD         6i 

Do  not  allow  sorrow  to  embrace   thee, 

Nor  an  idle  grief  to  occupy  thy  days, 

Forsake  not  the  book  and  the  lover's  lips  and  the  green 

bank  of  the  field, 
Ere  that  the  earth  enfold  thee  in  its  bosom. 

Ref.:    O.  76,  C.  173,  L.  315,  B.  311,  P.  189,  B.  ii.  233,  T.  121,  P.  v.  39. 
■deT.  9,  V.  317. 

Drink    wine,   for  thou  wilt  sleep  long  beneath  the  clay 
Without  an  intimate,  a  friend,  a  comrade,  or  a  mate. 

Ref.:    O.  35,  C.  80,  L.  188,  B.  185,  P.  284,  T.  60.— W.  107,  V.  184. 


XXV. 


Alike  for  those  who  for  To-day  prepare, 
'And  those  that  after  some  To-morrow  stare, 

A  Muezzin  from  the  Tower  of  Darkness  cries, 
"Fools!  your  Reward  is  neither  Here   nor  There.* 

The  inspiration  for  this  quatrain  is  in  C.  396. 

Some   are  immersed  in  contemplation   of   doctrine   and 

faith. 
Others  stand  stupefied  between  doubt  and  certainty. 
Suddenly   a    Muezzin,   from  his  lurking  place,  cries  out 
,  "O  Fools!  the  Road^  is  neither  here  nor  there." 

Re/.:    C.  396,  L.  591,  B,  584,  S.  P.  324,  P.  iii.  6,  P.  65.— W.  376,  N. 
337.  V.  638. 


XXVI. 


Why,  all  the  Saints  and  Sages  who  discuss'd 
Of  the  Two  Worlds  so  wisely  —  they  are  thrust 

Like  foolish  Prophets  forth;  their  Words  to  scorn 
Are  scatter'd,  and  their  Mouths  are  stopt  with  dust. 

This  quatrain  is  taken  from  O.  140  and  C.  236. 
I     2.  e.,  the  Mystic  Road  or  Way  of   Salvation. 


62  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 

Those,  O  Saki,  who  have  gone  before  us, 

Have    fallen    asleep,    O    Saki,   in    the    dust    (or    khwah 

sleep)  of  self-esteem, 
Go   thou   and  drink  wine,  and  hear  the  truth  from  me, 
Whatever  they  have  said,  O  Saki,  is  but  wind! 

Ref.  :    O.  140,  C.  453,  L.  687.  B.  678,  S.  P.  380,  P.  260,  B.  ii.  525,  T. 
279,  P.  V.  22. — W.  428,  N.  384,  V.  739. 

Those  who  are  the  cream  of  the  existence  of  mankind. 
Spur  the  Burak  of  their  thoughts  up  to  the  highest  heaven,  1 
In  the  study  of  your  being,  like  heaven  itself 
Their  heads  are  turned,  and  overset,  and  spinning. 

Jie/. :    C.  236,  L.  326.  B.  322,  S.  P.  120,  T.  155,  W.  147,  N.  120,  V.  328. 


XXVII. 

Myself  when  young  did  eagerly  frequent 
Doctor  and  Saint,  and  heard  great  argument 

About  it  and  about:  but  evermore 
Came  out  by  the  same  door  wherein  I  went. 


XXVIII. 

With  them  the  seed  of  Wisdom  did  I  sow. 

And  with  mine  own  hand  wrought  to  make  it  grow; 

And  this  was  all  the  Harvest  that  I  reap'd  — 
**I  came  like  Water,  and  like  Wind  I  go.'* 

These  two  quatrains  must  be  considered  together.     They 
are  inspired  by  O.  121,  C.  281,  and  O.  72. 

For  a  while,  when  young,  we  frequented  a  teacher, 
For  a  while  we  were  contented  with  our  proficiency; 
Behold  the  end  of  the  discourse:  —  what  happened  to  us  ? 
We  came  like  water  and  we  went  like  wind. 

Rgf.:     Q.  121.  L.  54^.  B.  538.  B.  ii.  420,  P.  v.  99.  — W.  353,  V.  584. 

I     Burak  was  the  winged    mule    of   Muhammad  on  which  he  is  said 
to  have  journeyed  from  Jerusalem  to  heaven. 


HERON-ALLEN   ANALYSIS   OF   FITZGERALD        63 

Being  ( once )  a  falcon,  I  flew  from  the  World  of  mystery, 
That  from  below  I  might  soar  to  the  heights  above; 
But,  not  finding  there  any  intimate  friend, 
I  came  out  by  the  same  door  wherein  I  went.i 

Ref. :    C.  281,  L.  429,  B.  425,  S.  P.  224,  P.  30,  B.  ii.  295,  T.  184.  —W. 
264,  N.  225,  V.  467. 

A   quatrain    that   probably  contributed   to    FitzGerald's 
verse  is:  \ 

No  one  has  solved  the  tangled  secrets  of  eternity. 
No  one  has  set  foot  beyond  the  orbit  (of  human  under- 
standing), 
Since,  so  far  as  I  can  see,  from  tyro  to  teacher. 
Impotent  are  the  hands  of  all  men  born  of  women. 

Ref.  :     O.  72,  C.  176,  L.  357,  B.  353,  S.  P.  175,  B.  ii.  211,  P.  v.  210. — 
W.  190,  N,  175,  Vi  356. 


XXIX. 


Into  this  Universe,  and  Why  not  knowing 
Nor  Whence,  like  Water  willy-nilly  flowing; 
And  out  of  it,  as  Wind  along  the  Waste, 
I  know  not   Whither,  Willy-nilly  blowing. 

The  inspiration    for  this  quatrain  is  to  be  found  in  the 
following:     C.  235  and  O.  20  (11.   i  and  2). 

He  first  brought  me  in  confusion  into   existence. 
What  do  I  gain  from  my  life  save  my  amazement  at  it  ? 
We  went  away  against  our  will,  and  we  know  not  what 

was 
The  purpose  of  this  coming,  and  going,  and  being. 

Ref.:  C.   235,  L.  324,  B.  320,  S.  P.   117,    T.    153. — W.   145,  N.   117, 
V.  326. 

I  This  is  a  very  difficult  quatrain  to  translate.  The  mystic  soaring 
of  the  soul  in  search  of  enlightenment  is  compared  to  the  flight 
of  a  falcon.     In  1.  3,  ///..•  «any  partner  of  the  secret.* 


64        QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

Like  water  in  a  great  river  and  like  wind  in  the  desert, 
Another  day  passes  out  of  the  period  of  my  existence.  ^ 

Ref.:  O.  20,  C.  23  and  55,  L.  84,  B.  80,  S.  P.  22,  P.  ii.  2,  P.  162, 
B.  ii.  24  and  88,  T.  22  and  305,  P.  v.  140  and  186,  W.  26,  N.  22  and 
42.  V.  83. 


XXX. 


What,  without  asking,  hither  hurried   Whence? 
And,  without  asking,  Whither  hurried  hence! 
Oh,  many  a  Cup  of  this  forbidden  Wine 
Must  drown  the  memory  of  that  insolence! 

This  quatrain  owes  its  origin    to   two   ruba'iyat   in    O., 
viz.,   21  and  151. 

Seeing  that   my  coming  was    not    in    my  power  at    the 

Day  of  Creation,  2 
And   that  my  undesired   departure  hence   is  a  purpose 

fixed  (for  me), 
Get  up  and  gird  well  thy  loins,  O  nimble  cup-bearer. 
For  I  will  wash  down  the  misery  of  the  world  in  wine. 

Ref.:  O.  21,  C.  49,  L.  94,  B.  90,  B.  ii.  86,  P.  v.  123.— W.  no,  V.  94. 

Had  I  charge  of  the  matter  I  would  not  have  come. 
And,  likewise,  could  I  control  my  going,  how  should  I 

have  gone  ? 
There  could  have  been  nothing  better  than  that  in  this 

world 
I  had  neither  come,  nor  gone,  nor  lived  ? 

Ref.:  O.   157,   C.  494,   L.   732,   B.  720,    P.  88,  B.   ii.  590  and  593,   P. 
iv.   17,  P.  V.  130. — W.  490,  E.  C.  30,  N.  450.  V.  785. 

1  C.  reads  these  two  lines:  — 

These  two  or  three  days  of  the  period  of  my  existence  pass  by 
They  pass  as  passes  the  wind  in  the  desert. 

2  Compare  F'itzGerald's  "First  Morning  of  Creation >>  in  q.  73. 


HERON-ALLEN   ANALYSIS    OF    FITZGERALD        65 

XXXI. 

Up  from  Earth's  Centre  through   the  Seventh  Gate 
I  rose,  and  on  the  Throne  of  Saturn  sate, 

And  many  a  Knot  unravel 'd  by  the  Road; 
But  not  the  Master-knot  of  Human  Fate. 

This  quatrain  is  translated  from  C.   314. 

From  the  Nadir  of  the  earthly  globe,  up  to  the  Zenith 

of  Saturn 
I  solved  all  the  problems  of  heaven; 
I  escaped  from  the  bondage  of   all  trickery  and  deceit, 
All  obstacles  were  removed  save  only  the  Bond  of  Fate. 

Ref.:  C.  314,  L.  491,  B.  487,  B.  ii.  338,  T.  215.  -W.  303,  V.  531. 


XXXII. 


There  was  the  Door  to  which  I  found  no  Key; 
There  was  the  Veil  through  which  I  might  not  see: 

Some  little  talk  awhile  of  Me  and  Thee 
There  was — -and  then  no  more  of  Thee  and  Me. 

The  main  inspiration  of  this  quatrain  is  found  in  C.  387. 

Neither  thou  nor  I  know  the  secret  of  Eternity, 
And  neither  thou  nor  I  can  de-cypher  this  riddle; 
There  is  a  talk  behind  the  Curtain^  of  me  and  thee 
But    when    the    Curtain    falls    neither    thou    nor    I    are 
there. 

Ref.:  C.  387,  L.  581,  B.  574,  P.  33,  B.  ii.  421,  T.  260.—  W.  389,  V.  628. 

We  also  see  in  the  quatrain  the  influence  of  O    29  and 
C.    193,  11.   I  and  2. 

I     i.  e.,  the  Curtain  that  Veils  the  Mysteries  of  God,  a  constantly  re- 
curring image  in  Persian  literature. 
5 


66  QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

No   one   can    pass    behind   the    Curtain  (that  veils)  the 

secret, 
The  mind  of  no  one  is  cognizant  of  what  is  there :  ^ 

/?0^..-  O.  29,  C.  56,  L.  61,  B.  58,  S.  P.  43,  P.  63,  B.  ii.  103,  P.  v.  188. 

— W.  47,  N.  44,  V.  60. 

No  one  can  pass  behind  the  Curtain  of  Fate 
No  one  is  master  of  the  Secret  of  Destiny. 

i?<?/"..-  C.  193,  L.  345,  B.  341,  S.  P.   177,  B.  ii.  212. —W.  192,  N.  177, 
V.  346. 


XXXIIP 


Earth  could  not  answer;   nor  the  seas  that  mourn 
In  flowing  Purple,  of  their  Lord  forlorn; 

Nor  rolling  Heaven,  with  all  his  Signs  reveal'd 
And  hidden  by  the  sleeve  of  Night  and  Morn. 

This  is  the  quatrain  (not  No.  31  as  stated  by  Mr.  Aldis 
Wright  in  his  Editorial  Note)  taken  by  Edward  Fitz- 
Gerald  from  the  Mantik  ut-tair  of  Ferid  ud  din  Attar. 
The  story  which  inspired  it  begins  at  distich  No.  972, 
and  is  as   follows: 

An  observer  of  spiritual  things  approached  the  sea 

And  said  ^*  O  sea,  why  are  you  blue  ? 

Why  do  you  v/ear  the  robe  of  mourning  ? 

There  is  no  fire,  why  do  you  boil  ?  ** 

The  sea  made  answer  to  that  good-hearted  one, 

"  I  weep  for  my  separation  from  the  Friend, 

Since  by  reason  of  my  impotence    I    am  not  worthy  of 

Him, 
I  have  made  my  robe   blue   on   account    of   my  sorrow 

for  Him.» 

I     C.  reads  «  of  this  juggling  about  of  the  soul.»     E.  B.  C.  suggests  «of 
this  chess-opening.'^ 


HERON-ALLEN   ANALYSIS   OF   FITZGERALD        67 

XXXIV. 

Then  of  the  Thee  in  Me  who  works  behind 
The  Veil,  I  lifted  up  my  hands  to   find 

A  lamp  amid  the  Darkness;  and  I  heard, 
As  from  Without  —  ^^  The  Me  within  Thee  Blind!* 

That  Edward  FitzGerald  was  not  following  any  partic- 
ular ruba'iyat  of  the  original  MSS.  is  clearly  indicated 
by  the  great  variation  observable  in  the  forms  that  this 
quatrain  successively  assumed  in  the  first,  second  and 
third  editions.  It  suggests  an  exposition  of  the  Sufi  doc- 
trine of  the  emanation  of  the  mortal  Creature  from  God 
the  Creator,  and  his  reabsorption  into  God.  There  is  a 
quatrain  in  L.  (No.  641)  and  in  B.  ii.  (No.  457)  which 
is  akin  to  it,  but  FitzGerald  was  not  acquainted  with 
these  texts.  (It  is  No.  400  in  W.)  I  have  no  doubt  that 
FitzGerald's  34th  quatrain  was  suggested  to  him  by  tvv^o 
intricate  passages  in  the  Mantik  ut-tair,  commencing  re- 
spectively at  distich  3090  and  distich  3735.  The  first  of 
these  may  be  translated: 

^^  The  Creator  of  the  World  spoke  thus  to  David  from 
behind  the  Curtain  of  the  Secret :  ^  For  everything  in  the 
world,  good  or  bad,  visible  or  invisible,  thou  canst  find 
a  substitute,  but  for  Me,  thou  canst  find  neither  substi- 
tute nor  equal.  Since  nothing  can  be  substituted  for  Me, 
do  not  cease  to  abide  in  Me.  I  am  thy  Soul,  destroy 
not  thou  thy  Soul ;  I  am  necessary  to  thee,  O  thou  my 
servant.     Seek  not  to  exist  apart  from  Me.^" 

The  second  passage  reads :  ^^  Since  long  ago,  really,  I 
am  thee,  and  thou  art  Me;  we  two  are  but  One.  Art 
thou  Me,  or  am  I  thee  ?  is  there  any  duality  in  the 
matter  ?  Either  I  am  thee,  or  thou  art  Me,  or  thou, 
thou  art  thyself.  Since  thou  art  Me  and  I  am  thee  for 
ever,  our  two  bodies  are  One :     Salutation !  * 


68        QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

XXXV. 

Then  to  the  Lip  of  this  poor  earthen  Urn 
I  lean'd,  the  Secret  of  my  Life  to  learn; 

And  Lip  to  Lip  it  murmur'd  —  **  While  you  live, 
*  Drink !  —  for,  once  dead,  you  never  shall  return.  ** 

This  quatrain  is  translated  from  O.    loo: 

In  great  desire  I  pressed  my  lips  to  the  lip  of  the   jar, 
To  enquire  from  it  how  long  life  might  be  attained ; 
It  joined  its  lip  to  mine  and  whispered, 
*^  Drink  wine !  for  to  this  world  thou  returnest  not.  *^ 

Ref.:  O.   loo,  C.   283,   L.  446,  B.  442.    P.  99,    B.    ii.  303,  T.   185,   P. 
V.   193.— W.  274,  E.  C.  25,  V.  482. 

C.   489    is  a    mystic   and   doctrinal   quatrain   containing 
the  same  injunction. 

Drink  wine !  for  I  have  told  you  a  thousand  times 
There  is   no   returning   for   you;    when   you    are   gone, 
you  are  gone  ! 

Ref.:  C.  489,  L.  723,  B.  712,  S.  P.  385,  B.  ii.    526,    P.  iv.  67,  P.  v. 
104.— W.  431,  N.  389,  V.  775. 


XXXVI. 


I  think  the  Vessel,  that  with  fugitive 
Articulation  answer'd,   once  did  live, 

And  drink ;  and  Ah !  the  passive  Lip  I  kiss'd, 
How  many  Kisses  might  it  take  —  and  give! 

The  inspiration  for  this  quatrain  occurs  in  O.   9. 

This  jug  was  once  a  plaintive  lover,  as  I  am. 

And  was  in  pursuit  of  one  of  comely  face ;  1 

This  handle  that  thou  seest  upon  its  neck 

Is  an  arm  that  once  lay  around  the  neck  of  a  friend. 

Ref.:  O.  9,  C.  48  and  426,  L.  81.  B.  77,  S.  P.  28,  P.   io8,  B.  ii.  28, 
P.  V.   142.— W.  32,  N.  28,  E.  C.  5,  V.  80. 

I     C.  reads  <<And  was  enslaved  by  the  curly  head  of  a  sweetheart.* 


HERON-ALLEN   ANALYSIS   OF   FITZGERALD         69 

XXXVIL 

For  I  remember  stopping  by  the  way 

To  watch  a  Potter  thumpmg  his  wet  Clay; 

And  with  its  all-obliterated  Tongue 
It  murmur'd  —  ^*  Gently,   Brother,  gently,  pray !  ** 

The  original  of  this  quatrain  is  O.  89. 

I  saw  a  potter  in  the  bazaar  yesterday, 
He  was  violently  pounding  some  fresh  clay, 
And  that  clay  said  to  him  in  mystic  language, 
"  I  was  once  like  thee  —  so  treat  me  well.  '* 

Ref.:  O.  89,  C.  261,  L.  411,  B.  407,  S.  P.  210,  P.  100,  B,  ii.  274,  P. 
iv.  71,  P.  V.   198. —  W.  252,  N.  211,  V.  434. 

XXXVIII.* 

And  has  not  such  a  Story  from  of  Old 
Down  Man's  successive  generations  roll'd 

Of  such  a  clod  of  saturated  Earth 
Cast  by  the  maker  into  Human  mould  ? 

This  quatrain,  which  is  in  the  nature  of  a  reflection 
upon  the  three  preceding  ones,  conveys  an  idea  which  is 
constantly  recurrent  in  the  ruba'iyat.  Edward  FitzGerald 
himself  records,  in  a  note,  that,  in  composing  this  quat- 
rain, he  had  in  mind  a  very  beautiful  story  in  the  Mantik 
ut-tair  of  the  water  of  a  certain  well  which,  ordinarily 
sweet,  became  bitter  when  drawn  in  a  vessel  made  from 
clay  which  once  had  been  a  man.  For  its  inclusion  in  this 
poem  FitzGerald  had  the  support  of  two  (among  many) 
quatrains  from  C.   475  and   488. 

I  pondered  over  the  workshop  of  a  potter; 

In    the    shadow    of   the    wheel    I    saw    that  the  master, 

with  his  feet. 
Made  handles  and  covers  for   goblets  and  jars. 
Out  of  the  skulls  of  kings  and  the  feet  of  beggars. 

J?e/.:  C.    475,    L.    698,     B.  689,    S.  P,    426,    P.    103,    B.  ii.   576.— W. 
466,    N.  431,  V.  750. 


^o  QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

I  made  my  way  into  the  (abode   of  the)  potters   of  the 

age, 
Every  moment  shewed  some  new  skill  with  clay; 
I  saw,  though  men  devoid  of  vision  saw  it  not, 
My  ancestors'  dust  on  the  hands  of  every  potter. 

Ref.:  C.  4S8,  L.  721,  B.  710,  P.   loi,  B.  ii.  543.  — W.  493,  V.  773. 


XXXIX. 


And  not  a  drop  that  from  our  Cups  we  throw 
For  Earth  to  Drink  of,  but  may  steal  below 

To  quench  the  fire  of  Anguish  in  some  Eye 
There  hidden  —  far  beneath  and  long   ago. 

This  quatrain  is  taken  from  11.    i  and  2  of  O.    81. 

Every  draught  that    the    Cup-bearer   scatters   upon   the 

earth 
Quenches  the  fire  of  anguish  in  some  burning  eye. 

Ref.:  O.   81,  C.  180.   L.   367,   B.   363,    S.  P.    188,    P.  231,    B.  ii.   241, 

P.  V.   187.— Vv'.   203,   N.   188.  V.   366. 


XL.* 


W. 


As  then  the  Tulip  for  her  morning  sup 
Of  Heav'nly  Vintage  from  the  soil  looks  up, 
Do  you  devoutly  do  the  like,   till  Heav'n 
To  Earth  invert  you  —  like  an  empty  Cup. 

The  original  of  this  quatrain  is  C.   37. 

Like  a  tulip  in  the  spring  uplift  your  cup; 
If  you  get  a  (happy)  opportunity  with  a  moon-faced  one, 
Drink  wine  with  cheerfulness,   for  this  worn-out  sky 
Will  suddenly  invert  you  to  the  level  of  the  earth. 

Ref.:   C.  37.    L.   136,  B.   133,  S.  P.  39,  B.  ii.  84,  T.  40   and   311.— 
.  44,  N.  40,  V.   135. 


HERON-ALLEN   ANALYSIS   OF   FITZGERALD        71 

XLL* 

Perplext  no  more  with  Human  or  Divine, 
To-morrow's  tangle  to  the  winds  resign, 

And  lose  your  fingers  in  the   tresses  of 
The  Cypress-slender  Minister  of  Wine. 

The  sentiment  of  this  quatrain  is  very  recurrent.  I 
think  that  FitzGerald's  first  inspiration  comes  from  O.  73. 

Set    limits   to    thy   desire   for   worldly   things   and   live 

content, 
Sever  the  bonds  of  thy  dependence  upon  the  good  and 

bad  of  life. 
Take  wine  in  hand  and  (play  with)  the  curls  of  a  loved 

one;  for  quickly 
All  passeth  away^ — and  these  few  days  will  not  remain. 

Re/.:  O.  73,  C.  179,  L.  256,  B.  253,  S.  P.  176.  — W.  191,  N.  176, 
V.  262. 

LI.  3  and  4  of  O.  118  suggest  the  quatrain  also. 

Let  us  cease  to  strive  after  our  long   delaying   hope^ 
And  play  with  long  ringlets  and  the  handle  of  the  lute. 

Re/.:  O.  118,  L.  571,  B.  564.  S.  P.  293,  B.  ii.  391.— W.  332,  N. 
294,  V.  611. 

LI.   I  and  2  of  O.   131  are   also  in  point: 

Flee  from  the  study  of  all  sciences — 'tis  better  thus, 
And  twine    thy  fingers   in    the    curly   locks  of   a   loved 
one  —  'tis  better  thus. 

Re/.:  O.  131,  C.  443.  L.  670,  B.  662,  S.  P.  356,  P.  296,  B.  ii.  480, 
T.  276,  P.  V.   158.  — W.  426,  N.  359,  V.  719. 

FitzGerald  was  probably  ^'  reminded  of  '*  these  by  Nic- 
olas whose  quatrains  48,  155,  and  359  (C.  443)  convey 
the  same  idea. 

I     /.  e. ,  "  Let  us  cease  striving  to  earn  salvation. » 


73  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 

XLII. 

And  if  the  Wine  you  drink,  the  Lip  you  press, 
End  in  what  All  begins  and  ends  in  —  Yes; 

Think  then  you  are  To-day  what  Yesterday 
You  were  —  To-morrow  you  shall  not  be  less. 

The  inspiration    for   this    quatrain   is   contained   in   the 
following,  O.  1 02  and  C.  412. 

Khayyam,  if  thou  art  drunk  with  wine,i  be  happy, 
If  thou  reposest  with  one  tulip-cheeked,  be  happy. 
Since  the  end  of  all  things  is  that  thou  wilt  be  naught; 
Whilst  thou  art,  imagine  that  thou  art  not  —  be  happy! 

Ref.:  O.    102,  C.  291,  L.    454,    B.    450,    S.  P.    241,  P.  202,  B.ii.  322, 
T.   192  and  296,  P.  iv.  26,  P.  v.  5. —  W.  282,  N.  242,  V.  493. 

Remember    not    the    day    that    has    passed    away   from 

thee. 
Be  not  hard  upon  the  morrow  that  has  not  come, 
Think  not  about  thine  own  coming  or  departure. 
Drink  wine  noiu^   and  fling  not  thy  life  to  the  winds. 

Ref.:  C.  412,  L.  619,  B.  611,  P.   116,  B.  ii.  444,  P.  v.  121.  — V,  666. 


XLIII. 


So  when  that  Angel  of  the  darker  Drink 

At  last  shall  find  you  by  the  river-brink. 

And,   offering  his  Cup,   invite  your  Soul 
Forth  to  your  Lips  to  quaff — you  shall  not  shrink. 

This  quatrain  owes  its  origin  to  C.   256.2 

C.  reads  <<  with   love.>^ 

FitzGerald  records  in  his  note  to  this  quatrain  that  had  it  not  been 
for  the  advice  of  Prof.  Cowell,  this  and  the  two  following  quat- 
rains would  have  been  withdrawn  after  the  Second  Edition. 
It  is  impossible  to  conceive  why,  for  they  are  singularly  fine 
and  exceptionally  <<  authorized. '> 


HERON-ALLEN   ANALYSIS   OF   FITZGERALD        73 

In  the  circle,  of  the  firmament,  whose  depths  are  in- 
visible, 

There  is  a  cup  which,  in  due  time,  they  will  cause  all 
to  drink; 

When  thy  turn  comes,  do  not  utter  lamentations, 

Drink  wine  gaily  for  it  has  come  to  be  thy  turn. 

Ref.:  C.  356,  L.  408,  B,  404,  B.  ii.  273. — W.  254,  V.  431. 


XLIV. 


Why,  if  the  Soul  can  fling  the  Dust  aside, 
And  naked  on  the  Air  of  Heaven  ride, 

Were't  not  a  Shame  —  were't  not  a  Shame  for  him 
In  this  clay  carcase  crippled  to  abide  ? 

This  quatrain  is  translated  from  O.   145. 

Oh  Soul !  if  thou  canst  purify  thyself   from  the  dust  of 

the  body, 
Thou,  naked  spirit,   canst  soar  in  the  heavens. 
The  Empyrean  is  thy  sphere — let  it  be  thy  shame. 
That  thou  comest  and  art  a  dweller  within  the  confines 

of  earth.  1 

Ref.:  O.    145,   C.  447,   L.   707,   B.  697,   S.   P.  389,   P.   iii,  B.  ii.  523. 
■W.  436,  N.  394,  E.  C.  7,  V.  759. 


XLV. 


'Tis  but  a  Tent  where  takes  his  one    day's  rest 
A  Sultan  to  the  realm  of  Death  addrest; 

The  Sultan  rises,   and  the  dark  Ferrash 
Strikes,  and  prepares  it  for  another  Guest. 

This  quatrain  is  translated  from  C.  no. 

I     FitzGerald's  rendering  in  the   ist  edition    (Introduction),  <<in   this 
clay  suburb  >^  is  a  more  Hteral  rendering. 


74       QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

Khayyam!  thy  body  surely  resembles  a  tent; 
The  soul  is  a  Sultan  and  the  halting-place  is  the  perish- 
able world, 
The  ferrash  of  fate,  preparing  for  the  next  halting-place, 
Will  overthrow  this  tent  when  the   Sultan   has   arisen.! 

Ref.:  C.   no,  L.  loo,  B.  96,  S.  P.  80,  B.  ii.  95,  T.  86,  P.  v.  172.— W. 
82,  N.  80,  V.  100. 


XLVL* 


And  fear  not  lest  Existence  closing  your 

Account,  and  mine,  should  know  the  like  no  more; 

The  Eternal  Saki  from  that  Bowl  has  pour'd 
Millions  of  Bubbles  like  us,  and  will  pour. 

FitzGerald   was   indebted   for   this    quatrain   to  N.   137. 
The  original  ruba'i  is  not  in  O.  or  C. 

Khayyam!  although  the  pavilion  of  heaven 
Has  spread  its  tent   and   closed   the   door  upon  all  dis- 
cussion, 
In  the  goblet  of  existence,  like  bubbles  of  wine 
The  Eternal  Saki  brings  to  light  a  thousand  Khayyams. 

Ref.:  N.  137,^  W.  161,  V.  397. 


XLVII.* 

When  You  and  I  behind  the  Veil  are  past, 

Oh,  but  the  long,  long  while  the  World  shall  last, 

Which  of  our  Coming  and  Departure  heeds 
As  the  Sea's  self  should  heed  a  pebble-cast. 

In    this    quatrain    FitzGerald    is    "reminded   of^*   O.    26 
and  51  by  N.    123. 

1  t.e..  The  ferrash  of  fate,  preparing  for  the  next  halting-place,  de- 

stroys this  tent  (body)  when  the  Sultan  (soul)  arises. 

2  I  do  not  know  the  origin  of  N.'s  text,  but  I  have  never  seen  this 

quatrain  in  any  other  MS.     The  same  remark  applies  to  N.  123, 
cited  under  No.  47. 


HERON-ALLEN   ANALYSIS   OF   FITZGERALD        75 

Know  this  —  that  from  thy  soul  thou  shalt  be  separated, 
Thou  shalt  pass  behind  the  Curtain  of  the  Secrets  of  God. 

Ref.:  O.  26  C.  83,  L.  192,  B.   189,  S.  P.  85,  B.  ii.  no,  T.  64,  P.  v. 
34.— W.  87,  N.  8s,  V.   188. 

My  coming  was  of  no   profit   to   the   heavenly  sphere,  1 
And    by    my    departure    nothing   will   be   added   to   its 
beauty  and  dignity. 

Ref.:  O.  51,   C.   129,   L.   232,   B.   229,  S.  P.   157,  P.  55,   B.  ii.  158,  T. 
104. —  W.  176,  N.  157,  E.  C.  17,  V.  239. 

Oh!  how  long  we  shall  be  no  more,  and  the  world  will 

continue  to  exist. 
It  will  continue  to  exist  without  fame  or  sign  of  us, 
Long  ago  we   existed   not,  and    (the   world)    was   none 

the  worse  for  it. 
Afterwards,  when  we   have   ceased   to   exist,   it  will  be 

all  the  same. 

Ref.:  N.    123,   W.    150,  V.  395. 


XLVIII. 


A  Moment's  Halt' — a  momentary  taste 

Of  Being  from  the  Well  amidst  the  waste  — 

And  Lo! — the  phantom  Caravan  has  reach'd 
The  Nothing  it  set  out  from  —  Oh,  make  haste! 

We  must  consider  here  the  form  in  which  this  quatrain 
first  made  its  appearance  in  the  edition  of  1859: 

One  Moment  in  Annihilation's  Waste, 

One  Moment,  of  the  Well  of  Life  to  taste  — 

The  stars  are  setting,  and  the  Caravan 
Starts  for  the  Dawn  of  Nothing  —  Oh,  make  haste! 

The  inspiration  for   this   richly   varied    quatrain   comes 
from  O.  60. 

I     C.  readis  «From  my  creation  the  Age  derived  no  advantage. » 


76        QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

This  caravan  of  life    passes  by  mysteriously; 
Mayest  thou  seize  the  moment  that  passes  happily! 
Cup-bearer,   why    grieve    about    the    to-morrow    of    thy 

patrons  ?  i 
Give  us  a  cup  of  wune,  for  the  night  wanes. 

Ref.:  O.  60,  C.   135,  L.  245,  B.  242,    P.    223,  S.    P.    106,  B.  ii.   146, 
T.  139.— W.  136,  N.   106,  V.  251. 

LI.   3  and  4  of   C.   368  may  also  be  quoted: 

(Man  is)  a  toil-stricken  being,  fashioned  in  the  clay  of 

affliction, 
He  tasted  of  Earth  for  a  time  and  passed  away. 

Ref.:  C.  368,  L.  566,  B.   559,    S.    P.    301.  B.    ii.  404,    T.    242.  — "W. 
338,  N.  302,  V.  606. 


XLIX.* 


Would  you  that  spangle  of  Existence  spend 
About   THE   Secret  —  quick  about  it,   Friend! 

A  Hair  perhaps  divides  the    False  and  True  — 
And  upon  what,  prithee,  may  life   depend  ? 

L.* 

A  Hair  perhaps  divides  the  False  and  True; 
Yes ;  and  a  single  Alif  were  the  clue  — 

Could  you  but  find  it  —  to  the  Treasure-house, 
And  peradventure  to  The  Master  too; 

This  pair  of  quatrains  must  also  be  considered  together. 
The  idea  contained  in  them  is,  I  think,  collected  from  C. 
482  and  19,  and  from  O.  28. 

Oh  Boy!  since  thou  art  learned  in  all  secrets. 

Why  grieve  so  much  after  vain  cares  ? 

If  things  will  not  shape  themselves  according  to  thy  desire, 

At  any  rate  be  happy  in  this  moment  of  thy  existence. 

Ref.:  C.  482,  L.  714,  B.  703,  S.  P.  414,  B.  ii.  560.— W.  458,  N.  419,  V.  766. 
I     //arzy««/  literally,  <<  companions, '^  «  fellow-workers. » 


HERON-ALLEN   ANALYSIS   OF   FITZGERALD        ^^ 

From  the  state  of  infidelity  to  that  of  faith  is  but  a  breath, 
And   from  a  state  of   doubt  to  that  of    certainty  is  but 

a  breath, 
Hold  thou  dear  this  one  precious  moment, 
For  of  the  outcome  of  our  being  there  is  but  a  moment. 

Ref.:  C.   19,  L.   131,  B.   127,  S.  P.  20,  B.  ii.  22,  T.   20— W.  24,  N. 
20,  V.   130. 

My  Heart  said  to  me :     ^*  I  have  a  longing  for  inspired 

knowledge. 
Teach  me  if  thou  art  able,'^ 

I  said  the  Alif .     My  Heart  said :     *^  Say  no  more. 
If  One  is  in  the  house,  one  letter  is  enough. ''  1 

R«f.:  O.  28.— W.  109. 


LI* 

Whose  secret  Presence,  through  Creation's  veins 
Running  Quicksilver-like  eludes  your  pains; 

Taking  all  shapes  from  Mah  to  Mahi;  and 
They  change  and  perish  all  —  but  He  remains; 

In   this   quatrain  FitzGerald  has   made  a  masterly  con- 
version of  C.  72. 

That  Moon  which  is  by  nature  skilled  in  metamorphosis 

Is  sometimes  animal  and  sometimes  vegetable, 

Do    not    imagine    that   it    will    become    non-existent  — 

away  with  thought ! 
It  is  always  possessed   of   its   essence   though  its  quali- 
ties cease  to  be.  2 

Ref.:  C.  72.  L.  179,  B.  176,  S.  P.  73,  B.  ii.  31,  T.  51.— W.  75,  N.  73,  V.  175. 

C.  40  may  also  be  cited. 

1  i.e..  The   One  God.     Compare    Hafiz  (Ode  416),   «He    who    knows 

the  One,  knows  all.>> 

2  Prof.  Cowell's    translation.     V.   appends    a    note,  « Apparently  the 

Essence  of  Life,  the  Ding  an  Sick  of  Kant,  and  the  Wille  of 
Schopenhauer,  the  Platonic  Idea,  the  abiding  type  of  the  per- 
ishable individuality;  possibly,  however,  the  Vedantic  <self >  is 
meant.»  For  the  word  w<3:^=moon  at  the  commencement  of 
the  quatrain,  some  of  the  texts  read  badeh  =  wine. 


78       QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

Place  wine  in  my  hand  for  my  heart  is'  aglow, 
And  this  fleet-footed  existence  is  like  quicksilver. 
Arise!    for   the    wakefulness    of   good   fortune    turns  to 

slumber ; 
Know   thou   that   the    fire   of    youth    is    (fugitive)    like 

water. 

Ref.:  C.  40,  L.  63,  B.  60,  S.  P.  54,  T.  45.~W.  57,  N.  54,  V.  62. 

"From  Mah  to  Mahi  *^ — i.e.,  from  Moon  to  Fish  is  a 
common  Oriental  metaphor  for  universality.  See  Fitz- 
Gerald's  note  on  this  subject,  and  the  Terminal  Essay  to 
my  former  volume,  p.   309. 


LIT. 


A  moment  guess'd  —  then  back  behind  the  Fold 
Immerst  of  Darkness  round  the  Drama  roll'd 

Which,  for  the  Pastime  of  Eternity, 
He  doth  Himself  contrive,  enact,  behold. 

This  quatrain  is  translated  from  C.  479. 

Hidden  sometimes  thou  shewest  thy  face  to  none. 
Sometimes    thou    appearest    in    the    forms    of    created 

beings, 
Thou  exhibitest  this  spectacle  to  thyself. 
Thou    art    thyself    both    the    real    thing    seen    and    the 

spectator. 

Ref.:  C.  479,  L.  705,  B.  695,  S.  P.  437-  — W.  475,  N.  443,  V.  757. 


LIIL* 


But  if  in  vain,  down  on  the  stubborn  floor 

Of  Earth,  and  up  to  Heav'n's  tmopening  Door, 

You  gaze  To-day,  while  You  are  You  —  how  then 
To-MORROw,  when  You  shall  be  You  no  more  ? 

The  original  of  this  quatrain  is  C.  24. 


HERON-ALLEN   ANALYSIS   OF   FITZGERALD        79 

If  the  heart  understood  the  secret  of  existence  as  it  is, 
In  death  it  would  know  all  the  secrets  of  God : 
If  to-day  thou  knowest  nothing,  being  with  thyself, 
What  wilt  thou  know  to-morrow  when  thou  abandonest 
thyself  ? 

Ref.:   C.  24,  L.  78,  B.  74,  S.  P.  49,  P.  85,  B.  ii.  106,  T.  25.— W.  52,  N. 
49.  V.  77. 


LIV. 


"Waste  not  your  Hour,  nor  in  the  vain  pursuit 
Of  this  and  That  endeavour  and  dispute; 

Better  be  jocund  with  the  fruitful  Grape 
Than  sadden  after  none,  or  Bitter,  Fruit. 

The  inspiration  for  this  quatrain  comes  from  O.  50  and 
O.  107: 

Those  who  are  the  slaves  of  intellect  and  hair-splitting,  1 
Have  perished  in  bickerings    about   existence  and  non- 
existence ; 
Go,  thou  dunce !  and  choose  (rather)  grape  juice, 
For   the   ignorant   from  (eating)    dry   raisins,  have    be- 
come (like)  unripe  grapes  (themselves). 2 

Re/.:  O.  50,  L.  262,  T.  102,  P.  v.  164.— W.  216,  V.  267. 

How  long  this  talk  about  the  eternity  to  come,  and  the 

eternity  past  ?  ^ 
Now  is  the  time  of  joy,  there  is  no  substitute  for  wine ! 
Both  theory  and  practice  have  passed   beyond   my  ken, 
(But)  Wine  unties  the  knot  of  every  difficulty. 

Re/.:  O.  107,  C.  312,  L.  489,  B.  485,   B.  ii.  341,  T.  213,  P.  v.  207.— W. 
304,  V.  259. 

1  Literally,  <<  discernment.  * 

2  The  obscurity  of  the  meaning  here  baffles  satisfactory  translation. 

Prof.  Cowell  says :  I  would  rather  take  it  as  a  sarcasm,  «  Those  fools 
with  their  unripe  grapes  become  (in  their  own  eyes)  pure  wine.» 

3  Azal  in  Persian  dogma  is  eternity  without  beginning,  i.e.,  ^''from 

all  time,'>    as    opposed   to    abaci,  eternity  Avithout   end,  z'.e.,  ^^to 
all  eternity. » 


8o       QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

LV. 

You  know,  my  friends,  with  what  a  brave  Carouse 
I  made  a  Second  Marriage  in  my  house; 

Divorced  old  barren  Reason  from  my  Bed, 
And  took  the  Daughter  of  the  Vine  to  Spouse. 

This  quatrain  is  translated  from  C.  175. 

I  will  fill  a  one-maund  goblet  with  wine, 

I  will  enrich  myself  with  two  half-maunds  of  wine; 

First  I  will  thrice  pronounce  the  divorce  from  learning 

and  faith,  1 
And    then    I  will   take    the    daughter   of    the    vine  2    to 

spouse. 

Ref.:  C.  175,  L.  267,  B.  263,  P.  288,  P.  v.  209.  — V.  271. 


LVI. 


For  ^*  Is  *^  and  "  Is-not  ^^  though  with  Rule  and  Line 
And  ^^  Up-and-down  *^  by  Logic  I  define, 

Of  all  that  one  should  care  to  fathom,  I 
Was  never  deep  in  anything  but  —  Wine. 

This  quatrain  is  translated  from  O.  120: 

I  know  the  outwardness  of  existence  and  non-existence,  3 
I  know  the  inwardness  of  all  that  is  high  and  low; 
Nevertheless  let  me  be  ashamed  of*  my  own  knowledge 
If  I  recognise  any  degree  higher  than  drunkenness. 

Ref.:  O.  120,   L.  523,   B.  518,  S.  P.  299,   P.  265,   B.  ii.  409,   P.  v.  38.— 
W.  336,  N.  300,  V.  563. 

1  In  the  East  a  man  may  divorce  his  wife  twice  and   take  her  back 

again,  but   the    third    time    it  is  irrevocable  —  unless  (curiously 
enough)  she  has  been  married  to  someone  else  in  the  meantime. 

2  i.e..  Wine,  a  recurrent  Persian  metaphor.    Comp. :  Arabic  ^'^  bint-ul- 

kerni.  '** 

3  2ra/zzr=.  exoteric,  as  opposed  to  ^a/z«  —  esoteric,  in  line  3. 

4  C.  reads  <<  I  am  weary. » 


HERON-ALLEN  ANALYSIS   OF   FITZGERALD        8i 

LVII.* 

Ah,  but  m)'  Computations,  People  say, 
Reduced  the  Year  to  better  reckoning?  —  Nay, 

'  Twas  only  striking  from  the  Calendar 
Unborn  To-morrow  and  dead  Yesterday. 

This  quatrain  owes  its  inspiration  to  C.  381  and  O.   20, 

11.  3  and  4: 

My  enemies  erroneously  have  called  me  a  philosopher,  1 
God  knows  I  am  not  what  they  have  called  me; 
But,  as  I  have  come  into  this  nesting  place  of   sorrow, 
In  the  end  I  am  in  a  still  worse  plight,  for  I  know  not 
who  I  am. 

Ref,:  C.  381,  L.  580,  B.  573,  B.  ii.  383.  T.  259.— W.  350,  V.  619. 

Never   has   grief   lingered   in  my  mind  concerning  two 

days,  2 
The   day  that   has   not  yet    come,   and   the  day  that   is 

past. 

Ref.:  O.  20,  C.  23  and  55,  L.  84,  S.  P.  22,  B.  80,  P.  162,  B.  ii.  24  and 
88,  P.  ii.  2,  T.  22  and  305,  P.  v.  140  and  186. — W.  26,  N.  22  and  42,  V.  83. 


LVIII. 


And  lately,  by  the  Tavern  Door  agape, 

Came  shining  through  the  Dusk  an  Angel  Shape 

Bearing  a  vessel  on  his  Shoulder;  and 
He  bid  me  taste  of  it;  and  'twas  —  the  Grape! 

This  quatrain  is  a  refined  version  of  C.  297. 

1  The  opening  lines  of  FitzGerald's  quatrain  refer  to  Omar's  reforma- 

tion of  the  calendar,  and  institution  of  the  Jalali  era,  which 
Gibbon  describes  as  <<a  computation  of  time  which  surpassed 
the  Julian,  and  approached  the  accuracy  of  the  Gregorian  style. » 
(« Decline  and  Fall  of.  the  Roman  Empire,*^  Gibbing's  edition, 
1890,  vol.  iv.,  p.  180.) 

2  C.  reads  ^<So  long  as  I  live,  I  will  not  grieve  for  two  days.** 

6 


82       QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

Yesterday,  whilst  drunk,  I  was  passing-  a  tavern, 

I    saw    a    drunken    old    man    bearing   a   vessel    on    his 

shoulder. 
I  said,  **  Old  man,  does  not  God  make  thee  ashamed  ?  '* 
He  replied,  "  God  is  merciful,  go,  drink  wine !  *^ 

Ref.:  C.  297,   L.  462,   B.  458,   S.  P.  243,  P.  278,  T.  197.  — W.  284,  N. 
244,  V.  501. 


LIX. 


The  Grape  that  can  with  Logic  absolute 
The  Two-and-Seventy  jarring  Sects  confute; 

The  sovereign  Alchemist  that  in  a  trice 
Life's  leaden  metal  into  Gold  transmute; 

This  quatrain  is  translated  from  O.  77. 

Drink  wine,  that  will  banish  thine  abundant  woes. 
And  will  banish  thought  of  the  Seventy-two  Sects; 
Avoid  not  the  Alchemist,  1  from  whom 
Thou  takest    one   draught,  and  he  banishes    a   thousand 
calamities. 

Ref.:  O.  77,  C.  165,  L.  305,  B.  301,  S.  P.  179,  P.  283,  T.  112,  P.  v.  152. 
-W.  194,  V.  308. 


LX. 


The  mighty  Mahmud,  Allah-breathing  Lord, 
That  all  the  misbelieving  and  black  Horde 

Of  Fears  and  Sorrows  that  infest  the  Soul 
Scatters  before  him  with  his  whirlwind  Sword. 

This  reference  to  Mahmoud  the  Ghasnavide,  who  made 
war  upon  the  black  infidels  of  Hindostan,  comes  from  an 
apologue  in  the  Mantik  ut-tair  of  Ferid  ud  din  Attar, 
(beginning  at  distich  31 17).  The  last  two  lines  come 
from  O.  81,  11.  3  and  4. 

I     i.e..  Wine. 


HERON-ALLEN   ANALYSIS   OF   FITZGERALD        83 

Praise  be  to  God!  thou  realizest  that  wine 

Is  a  juice  that  frees  thy  heart  from  a  hundred  pains. 

Ref.:  O.  81,  C.  180,  L.  367,  B.  363,  S.  P.  1S8,  P.  231,  B.  ii.  241,  P.  v. 
187.— W.  203,  N.  188,  V.  366. 


LXI. 


Why,  be  this  Juice  the  growth  of  God,  who  dare 
Blaspheme  the  twisted  tendril  as  a  Snare  ? 

A  Blessing-,  we  should  use  it,  should  we  not  ? 
And  if  a  Curse  —  Why,  then,  Who  set  it  there  ? 

The  inspiration  for  this  quatrain  is  contained  in  O.  75. 

I    drink    wine,   and   everyone    drinks    who,    like    me,    is 

worthy  of  it; 
My  wine-drinking  is  but  a  small  thing  to  Him; 

God  knew  on  the  Day  of   Creation,  that  I  should  drink 

wine; 
If    I    do   not    drink   wine    God's    knowledge    would    be 

ignorance. 

Ref.:  O.  75,  C.  202,  L.  356,  B.  352,  S.  P.  182,  P.  324,  B.  ii.  234,  T.  129, 
P.  V.  181.— W.  197,  N.  182,  V.  355. 


LXII.* 


I  must  abjure  the  Balm  of  Life,  I  must. 
Scared  by  some  After-reckoning  ta'en  on  trust, 
Or  lured  with  Hope  of  some  Diviner  Drink, 
To  fill  the  Cup  —  when  crumbled  into  Dust! 

This  quatrain  is  taken  from  C.  505  and  O.  143,  11.  3  and  4. 

They  say,  *^  Do  not  drink  wine  for  thou  wilt  sujBFer  for  it, 
On  the  Day   of  Rewards  thou  wilt  be  cast  into  the  fire.  ** 
That  is  so;  but  what  is  worth  both  the  worlds 
Is  the  moment  when  thou  art  elated  with  wine. 

Ref.:  C.  505,  L.  748,  B.  734,  P.  250,  B.  ii.  587.  — V.  800. 


84        QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

Make  thyself  a  heaven  here  with  wine  and  cup, 
For  at  that   place  where  heaven  is,  thou   mayst  arrive, 
or  mayst  not. 

Ref.:  O.  143,  C.  495,  L.  733.  B.  721,  S.  P.  379,  P.  209,  B.  ii.  529,  P.  v. 
129. — W.  427,  N.  383,  V.  786. 


LXIII. 

Oh  threats  of  Hell  and  Hopes  of  Paradise! 
One  thing  at  least  is  certain  —  This  Life  flies ; 

One  thing  is  certain  and  the  rest  is  Lies; 
The  Flower  that  once  has  blown  for  ever  dies. 

The  inspiration  for  this  quatrain  comes  from  O.  35  of 
which  11.  I  and  2  are  quoted  as  parallel  to  quatrain  No. 
24  ante. 

Take  care  that  thou  tellest  not  this  hidden  secret  to 

anyone : 
The  tulips  that  are  withered  will  never  bloom  again. 

Ref.:  O.  35,  C.  80,  L.   188,  B.   185,  P.  284,  T.  60.— W.  107,  V.  184. 


LXIV.* 


Strange,  is  it  not?  that  of  the  myriads  who 
Before  us  pass'd  the  door  of  Darkness  through, 

Not  one  returns  to  tell  us  of  the  Road, 
Which  to  discover  we  must  travel  too. 

This  is  a  constantly  recurring  image   in   the    ruba'iyat. 
C.   36  and  270  may  be  cited: 

I  have  travelled  far  in  a  wandering  by  valley  and  desert, 
It  came  to  pass  I  wandered  in  all  quarters  of  the  world, 
I  have  not  heard  from  anyone  who  came  from  that  road. 
The  road  he  has  travelled,  no  traveller  travels  again. 

Ref.:  C.  36,  L.   57,  B.  54,  T.  39.-- W.   129,  V.  56. 


HERON-ALLEN    ANALYSIS    OF   FITZGERALD         85 

Of  all  the  travellers  -upon  this  long  road, 

Where  is  he  that  has  returned,  that  he  may  tell  us  the 
secret  ? 

Take  heed  that  in  this  mansion  (by  way  of  meta- 
phor) 

Thou  leavest  nothing,  for  thou  wilt  not  come  back. 

Ref.:  C.  270,  L.  424,  B.  420,  S.  P.  216,  P.   121,  B.  ii.  286,  P.  v.  9. 

-W.  258,  N.  217,  V.  462. 

C.   211  and  277  contain  the  same  image. 


LXV.* 


The  Revelations  of  Devout  and  Learn'd 
Who  rose  before  us,  and  as  Prophets  burn'd, 

Are  all  but  Stories,  which,  awoke  from  Sleep, 
They  told  their  comrades,  and  to  Sleep  return'd. 

This  quatrain  is  translated  from  C.    127. 

Those  who  have  become  oceans  of  excellence  and  culti- 
vation. 

And  from  the  collection  of  their  perfections  have  be- 
come lights  of  their  fellows, 

Have  not  made  a  road  out  of  this  dark  night, 

They  have  told  a  fable  and  have  gone  to  sleep. 

Ref.:   C.    137,    L.    261,    B.    258,    P.    86,    T.    loi.— W.  209,  N.  464, 
V.  266. 


LXVL* 


I  sent  my  Soul  through  the  Invisible, 
Some  letter  of  that  After-life  to  spell: 

And  by  and  by  my  Soul  return'd  to  me. 
And  answer'd,   "I  myself  am  Heav'n  and  Hell*; 

This  quatrain  is  inspired  by  O.    15. 


86        QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

Already  on  the  Day  of  Creation,  beyond  the  heavens, 

my  soul 
Searched  for  the  Tablet  and  Pen,  and    for  heaven  and 

hell; 
At  last  the  Teacher  said  to  me  with  His  enlightened 

judgment, 
"  Tablet  and  Pen,  and  heaven  and  hell,  are  within 

thyself.  »i 

Ref.:  O.   15,  L.  59,  B.  56,    P.    114,    B.  ii,    69,    P.    v.    79.— W.   114, 
V.  58. 


LXVII.  * 

Heav'n  but  the  Vision  of  fulfill'd  Desire, 
And  Hell  the  Shadow  from  a  Soul  on  fire. 

Cast  on  the  Darkness  into  which  Ourselves, 
So  late  emerged  from,   shall  so  soon  expire. 

The  inspiration  for  this  verse  comes  from  O.    -t,'^. 

The  heavenly  vault  is  a  girdle  (cast)  from  my  weary 

body. 
Jihun2  is  a  water-course  worn  by  my  filtered  tears. 
Hell  is  a  spark  from  my  useless  worries. 
Paradise  is  a  moment  of  time  when  I  am  tranquil. 

Ref.:  O.  33,  C.  90,  L.   199,  B.   196,  S.  P.  90,    P.   148,  T.  70,  P.    v. 
183. —  W.  92,  N.  90,  V.   195. 

FitzGerald's    verse     was   evidently    also    influenced    by 
distich  1866  of  the  Mantik  ut-tair. 

Heaven  and  hell  are  reflections,  the  one  of  thy  goodness, 
and  the  other  of  thy  wrath. 

1  The  Lauh  u  Kalam  are   the  Tablet  and  Pen  whereon  and  where- 

with the  Divine  decrees  of  what  should  be  from  all  time  were 
written.  Compare  Koran,  ch.  Ixviii,  i.  «By  the  Pen  and 
what  they  write,  O  Muhammad!  thou  art  not  distracted. » 

2  The  river  Oxus. 


HERON-ALLEN   ANALYSIS   OF   FITZGERALD        87 

LXVIII. 

We  are  no  other  than  a  moving  row 

Of  Magic  Shadow-shapes  that  come  and  go 

Round  with  the  Sun-illumined  Lantern  held 
In  Midnight  by  the  Master  of  the  Show; 

This  quatrain  is  translated  from  O.    108. 

This  vault  of  heaven  beneath  which  we  stand  bewildered, 

We  know  to  be  a  sort  of  magic-lantern :  1 

Know  thou  that  the  sun  is  the  flame  and   the  universe 

is  the  lamp, 
We  are  like  figures  that  revolve  in  it. 

Ref.:  O.   108,   C.  332,   L.   505,   B.   501,  S.   P.   266,   P.  40,    B.    ii.   356, 
P,  iv.  34.  — W.  310,  N.  267,  E.  C.  28,  de  T.  10,  V.  545. 


LXIX. 


But  helpless  Pieces  of  the  Game  He  plays 
Upon  this  Chequer-board  of  Nights  and  Days; 

Hither  and  thither  moves,   and  checks,   and  slays, 
And  one  by  one  back  in  the  Closet  lays. 

This  quatrain  is  translated  from  O.   94. 

To  speak  plain  language,  and  not  in  parables, 
We  are  the  pieces  and  heaven  plays  the  game, 
We  are  played  together  in  a  baby-game  upon  the 

chess-board  of  existence, 
And  one  by  one  we  return  to  the  box  of  non-existence. 

P.    31,    B.    ii.    291, 


Ref.:  O.  94,  C.   280,   L.  443,   B.  439,  S.   P.  230, 
T.   183,  P.  V.   10.— W.  270,  N.  231,  E.  C.  27,  V.  ^ 


The  editor  of  the  "Calcutta  Review »  appends  the  following  note 
at  the  foot  of  Prof.  Cowell's  article  (E.  C),  « These  lanthorns 
are  very  common  in  Calcutta.  They  are  made  of  a  tall  cylinder 
with  figures  of  men  and  animals  cut  out  of  paper  and  pasted 
on  it.  The  cylinder,  which  is  very  light,  is  suspended  on  an 
axis,  round  which  it  easily  turns.  A  hole  is  cut  near  the  bot- 
tom, and  the  part  cut  out  is  fixed  at  an  angle  to  the  cylinder 
so  as  to  form  a  vane.  When  a  small  lamp  or  candle  is  placed 
inside,  a  current  of  air  is  produced  which  keeps  the  cylinder 
slowly  revolving. » 


88       QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

LXX. 

The  Ball  no  question  makes  of  Ayes  and  Noes 
But  Here  or  There  as  strikes  the  Player  goes; 

And  He  that  toss'd  you  down  into  the  Field, 
He  knows  about  it  all  —  he  knows — HE  knows! 

This  quatrain  is  translated  from  C.   422. 

O   thou   who   art   driven   like   a  ball   by   the   mallet   of 

Fate, 
Go  to  the  right  or  take  the  left,  but  say  nothing ;  1 
For  He  who  set  thee  running  and  galloping 
He  knows,  he  knows,   he  knows,   he . 

Ref.:  C.  422,  L.  633,  B.  625,  P.   167,  B.  ii.    462,  T.    274.  — W.  401, 
V.  682. 


LXXI. 


The  Moving  Finger  writes;  and,  having  writ. 
Moves  on:  nor  all  your  Piety  nor  Wit 

Shall  lure  it  back  to  cancel  half  a  Line, 
Nor  all  your  Tears  wash  out  a  Word  of  it. 

The  origin  of  this  quatrain  is  to  be  found  in  O.    31. 

From  the  beginning 2  was  written  what  shall  be; 
Unhaltingly  the  Pen  (writes)  and    is   heedless   of   good 

and  bad; 
On  the  First  Day  He  appointed   everything   that  must 

be  — 
Our  grief  and  our  efforts  are  vain, 

Ref.:  O.  31.  C.  87,  L.   195,  B.  192,  S.  P.  31.  B.  ii.  60,  T.  67,  P.  v. 
211.  —  W.  35,  N.  31,  V.   191. 

1  This  refers  to  the  game  of  Polo.     In  the  First  and  Second  Editions 

for    « Here    or    There »    we    read    « Right    or    Left »   as    in   the 
original. 

2  C.  reads  "Upon  the  Tablet. » 


HERON-ALLEN   ANALYSIS   OF   FITZGERALD 


LXXII. 

And  that  inverted  Bowl  they  call  the  Sky, 
Whereunder  crawling  coop'd  we  live  and  die, 
Lift  not  your  hands  to  It  for  help  — for  It 
As  Impotently  moves  as  you  or  I. 

The  inspiration   for   this   quatrain   comes   from  O.    134, 
11.    I  and  2,  and  O.   41. 

This  heavenly  vault  is  like  a  bowl  fallen  upside  down, 
Under  which  all  the  wise  have  fallen  helpless. 

Ref.:  O.   134,  C.  435,  L.  657,  B.   649,  S.   P.  360,   P.   34,    B.  ii.    481. 
P.  V.   154.— W.  408,  N.  363,  V.   706. 

The  good  and  the  bad  that  are  in  man's  nature, 

The  happiness  and  misery  that  are  predestined  for  us. 

Do  not  impute  them  to  the  heavens,  for,  in  the  way 

of  Wisdom, 
Those   heavens   are  a  thousandfold  more   helpless  than 

thou  art. 

Ref.:  O.  41.  C.  62,  L.  80,  B.  76,  S.  P.  95,  P.  45-— W.  96,    N.    95. 
V.  79- 


LXXIIL 

With  Earth's  first  Clay  They  did  the  Last  Man 

knead, 
And  there  of  the  Last  Harvest  sow'd  the  Seed: 

And  the  first  Morning  of  Creation  wrote 
What  the  Last  Dawn  of  Reckoning  shall  read. 

In  this  quatrain  we  trace  the  influence  of  O.  31  (quoted 
in  the  parallel  to  quatrain  No.   71,  ante)  and  of  O.  95. 


90        QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

Oh,    heart!    since,   in    this   world,   truth   itself   is   hyper- 
bole, 

Why  art  thou  so  disqiiieted  with  this  trouble  and 
abasement  ? 

Resign  thy  body  to  destiny  and  adapt  thyself  to  the 
times, 

For,   what  the  Pen  has  written,  it  will  not  re-write  for 
thy  sake.i 

Ref.:  O.  95,  L.  430,  B.  426,  S.  P.  215,   P.  59,  B.  ii.  292.— W.  257, 
N.  216,  E.  C.   15,  V.  468. 


LXXIV.* 

Yesterday    TJiis  Day's  Madness  did  prepare; 
To-MORROw's  Silence,   Triumph,   or  Despair: 
Drink!  for  you  know  not  whence  you  came, 
nor  why: 
Drink!  for  you  know  not  why  you  go,  nor  where. 

The  first  half  of  this  quatrain    comes    from  O.    152  and 
the  second  half  from  O.   26,  11.   3  and  4. 

Be  happy!  they  settled  thy  business  yesterday. 
And  beyond    the    reach    of    all    thy  longings   is   yester- 
day; 

Live  happily,   for  without  any  importunity  on  thy  part 
yesterday, 

They  appointed  with  certainty  what  thou  wilt  do  to- 
morrow—  yesterday! 

Ref.:  O.   152,   C.   473,  L.   702,  B.  ii.  564,  P.  v.  196.  — W.  489,  V.  754. 

Be  happy!  —  thou  knowest  not  whence  thou  hast  come: 
Drink  wine !  —  thou  knowest  not  whither  thou  shalt  go. 

Ref.:  O.  26,  C.  83,  L.    192,  B.   189,  S.  P.  85,  B.  ii.  no,  T.  64,  P.  v. 
34.— W.  87,  N.  85,  V.   188. 

I     Literally,  *For  the  Pen  once  gone  comes  not  back.>> 


HERON-ALLEN   ANALYSIS   OF    FITZGERALD        91 

LXXV. 

I  tell  you  this  —  When,   started  from  the  Goal, 
Over  the  flaming  shoulders  of  the  Foal 

Of  Heav'n,   Parwin  and  Mushtari  they  flung, 
In  my  predestined  Plot  of  Dust  and  Soul. 

This  quatrain  is  translated  from  C.    147. 

On  that  day  when  they  saddled  the  wild  horses  of  the 

Sun, 
And  settled  the  laws  of  Parwin  and  Mushtari,  1 
This  was  the   lot  decreed    for   me    from    the    Diwan  of 

Fate: 
How  can  I  sin  ?  (my  sins)  are    what  Fate    allotted  me 

as  my  portion. 

Ref.:  C.   147,  L.  2S6,  B.  282,  S.  P.   no.— W.   140,  N.    no,  V.    289. 


LXXVI. 


The  Vine  had  struck  a  fibre;  which  about 
If  clings  my  Being  —  let  the  Dervish  flout; 
Of  my  Base  metal  may  be  filed  a  Key, 
That  shall  unlock  the  Door  he  howls  without. 

The    sentiment  of    this  quatrain  is  contained  in  C.  143. 

Since  Eternity  itself  was  He  created  me, 
From  the  first  he  dictated  to  me  the  lesson  of  love. 
At  that  time  a  small  filing  of  the  dust  of  my  heart. 
He    made    into    a   key   of    the    treasure-house   of    sub- 
stance. 2 

Ref.:     C.  143,  L.  311,  B.  307,  P.  81,  T.  134— V.  314- 

1  See  FitzGerald's  note  on  this  quatrain. 

2  z'.  e..  Of  reality  as  opposed  to  the  dream  existence  of  the  present. 

(E.  B.  C.) 


92  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 

LXXVII. 

And  this  I  know;  whether  the  one  True  Light 
Kindle  to  Love,  or  Wrath-consume  me  quite. 

One  Flash  of  It  within  the   Tavern  caught 
Better  than  in  the  Temple  lost  outright. 

This  quatrain  is  translated  from  O.  2. 

If  I  talk  of  the  mystery  with  Thee  in  a  tavern. 

It  is  better  than   if   I   make   my  devotions    before   the 

Mihrabi  without  Thee. 
O  Thou,  the  first  and  last  of  all  created  beings, 
Burn  me  an  Thou  wilt,  cherish  me  an  Thou  wilt. 

Ref.:    O.  2,  C.  273,  L.  427,  B.  423.  S.  P.  221,  P.  7,  B.  ii.  394,  T.  172. 

—  W.  262,  N.  322,  V.  465. 


LXXVIII.* 

What!  out  of   senseless  Nothing  to  provoke 
A  conscious  Something  to  resent  the  yoke 

Of  impermitted  Pleasure,  under  pain 
Of  everlasting  Penalties,  if  broke! 

It  is  not  easy  to  deal  with  this  and  the  three  follow- 
ing quatrains  separately,  the  sentiments  of  all  four  being 
closely  interchangeable  and  largely  identical.  To  avoid 
confusion,  however,  I  have  attempted  the  task.  There 
are  some  scores  of  ruba'iyat  that  may  be  said  to  have 
contributed  their  imageries  to  the  quatrain.  The  main 
sources  of  the   first  of  them  seem  to  be  C.  85  and  N.  226: 

God,  when  he  fashioned  the  clay  of  my  body. 
Knew  by  my  making  what  would  come  of  it; 
( Since )  there  is  no  sin  of  mine  without  his  order 
Why  should  he  seek  to  burn  me  at  the  Day  of  Resur- 
rection ? 

Rff.:  C.  83.  L.  194.  B.  191,  S.  P.  99.  P.  iS.  T.  66.— W.  100.  N.  99,  V.  190. 

1     The  Mihrab  is  the  spot  in  a  Mosque  indicating  the  precise  direc- 
tion of  Mecca  towards  which  all  Muhammadans  turn  in  prayer. 


HERON-ALLEN   ANALYSIS   OF   FITZGERALD         93 

Thou  knowest  that  abstinence  from  that  ( sin )  is  impos- 
sible, 

Having  (nevertheless)  ordered  and  ordained  abstinence 
from   it ; 

Thus  between  the  order  and  the  prohibition  we  stand 
helpless, 

We  mortals  are  helpless  at  the  permission  to  slant  (the 
cup)   but  not  to  spill   (its  contents ).i 

Ref.:      N.  226,  L.  442,  B.  438,  S.  P.  225,   P.  317,   B.  ii.  297,  T.  180.— 
W.  265.  V.  479. 


LXXIX.* 

What!  from  his  helpless  Creature  be  repaid 
Pure  Gold  for  what  he  lent  him  dross-allay'd  — 

Sue  for  a  Debt  he  never  did  contract, 
And  cannot  answer — Oh  the  sorry  trade! 

This  quatrain  would  seem  to  be  specially  inspired  by 
C.  201  and  433,  which  are  so  much  alike  (11.  2,  3,  and  4 
are  practically  identical  in  both)  that  one  or  the  other  is 
obviously  the  addition  of  a  later  scribe. 

When  they  mixed  the  earth  of  my  shaping-mould, 
They  produced  an  hundred  wonders  from  me ;  2 
I  cannot  be  better  than  I  am. 
For  this  is  how  I  was  turned  out  of  the  crucible. 

Ref.:     C.  201,  L.  355,  B.  351,  T.  128.— W.  221,  V.  354. 

LXXX. 

Oh  Thou,  who  didst  with  pitfall  and  with  gin 
Beset  the  Road  I  was  to  wander  in, 

Thou  wilt  not  with   Predestined  Evil  round 
Enmesh,  and  then  impute  my  Fall  to  Sin! 

1  This   metaphor   recurs   frequently  in   the  ruba'iyat.     Compare  W. 

261  (  N.  221 )  and  W.  275  (  L.  428  ). 

2  i.  e.,  <<  it  was  quite  problematical  how  I  might  turn  out* 


94  QUATRAINS   OF    OMAR   KHAYYAM 

This  quatrain  is  translated  from  O.   148. 

In  a  thousand  places  on  the  road  I  walk,  Thou  placest 
snares, 

Thou  say'st  ^^  I  will  catch  thee  if  thou  settest  foot  in 
them,» 

In  no  smallest  thing  is  the  world  independent  of  Thee, 

Thou  orderest  all  things,  and  (yet)  callest  me  rebel- 
lious! 

Ref.:    O.  148,  B.  ii.  546.  —W.  432,  N.  390. 


LXXXI. 


Oh  Thou,  who  Man  of  baser   Earth  didst  make, 
And  ev'n  with  Paradise  devise  the   Snake: 

For  all  the  Sin  wherewith  the   Face  of   Man 
Is  blacken'd — Man's  forgiveness  give  —  and  take! 


This  is  a  very  composite  quatrain,  round  which  some 
controversy  has  raged.  Professor  Cowell  has  given  the 
weight  of  his  authority  to  the  statement  that  ^^  there  is 
no  original  for  the  line  about  the  snake.  ^^  This  is  true 
in  so  far  as  that  the  image  does  not  occur  in  Omar,  but 
FitzGerald  had  seen  it  in  an  important  apologue  in  the 
Mantik  ut-tair  (beginning  at  distich  3229)  in  which 
we  read  of  the  presence  of  the  Snake  (Iblis)  in  Para- 
dise, at  the  moment  of  the  creation  of  Adam,  and  in  the 
course  of  which,  Satan  himself  addresses  God  thus : 

If  malediction  comes  from  Thee,  there  comes  also  mercy, 
The  created  thing  is  dependent  upon  Thee  since  Destiny 

is  in  Thy  hands; 
If  malediction  be  my  lot,  I  do  not  fear. 
There  must  be  poison,  everything  is  not  antidote. 

The  influence  of  the  following  is  traceable  in  the  quat- 
rains, C.  115,  C.  286,  and  C.  510: 


HERON-ALLEN   ANALYSIS   OF   FITZGERALD        95 

I   am  a   disobedient   slave,  where  is  Thy  mercy  ? 
My  heart  is  dark,  where  is  Thy  light  and  clearness  ? 
If,  for  serving  Thee,  Thou  givest  me  heaven, 
This  a  reward,   but  Thy  grace    and  Thy  gifts  —  where 
are  they  ? 

Ref.:    C.  115,  L.  217,  B.  214,  S.  P.  91,  P.  23.  — W.  93,  N.  91,  V.  211. 

Oh!  Thou  who  knowest  the  secrets  of  the  hearts  of  all, 
Protector  of  all  in   their  hours  of  helplessness: 
Oh,  Lord!  grant  me  repentance  and  accept  my  excuses, 
Oh!    Thou  who   grantest   repentance   and  acceptest   the 
excuses  of    all. 

Ref.:    C.  286,  L.  449,   B.  445,  S.  P.  235,  B.  ii.  308,  T.  1S8.— W.  276, 
N.  236,  V.  488. 

Professor  Cowell  attributes  FitzGerald's  quatrain  to  the 
above  ruba'i.    Vide  Wig,  Editorial  Note  previously  ref  erred  to. 

The  manager  of  the  affairs  of  the  dead  and  living  art  thou, 
Thou  art  the  keeper  of  this  unstable  heaven; 
Though   I  am  wicked,  thou  art  my  Master, 
Who  can  sin,  seeing  that  thou  art  the  Creator  (of  all)  ? 

Ref.:    C.  510,  L.  700,  B.  691,  S.  P.  431,  P.  2,  B.  ii.  584.  — W.  471,  N. 
436.  V.  753. 


LXXXILi 

As  under  cover  of   departing  Day 
Slunk  hunger-stricken  Ramazan  away. 

Once  more  within  the  Potter's  house  alone 
I  stood,  surrounded  by  the  Shapes  of  Clay. 

Here  begins  the  section  devoted  especially  to  the  talking  pots  in 
the  workshop  of  the  potter  —  it  ends  at  quatrain  No.  90.  In  the 
first  edition  this  section  was  entitled  Kuza-nama  =  the  <<  Pot- 
book  »  or  « Book  of  Pots. »  It  may  be  observed  that  the 
quatrains  in  this  section  are  not  so  closely  rendered  from  rec- 
ognisable originals  as  the  other  quatrains  composing  Fitz- 
Gerald's poem.  This  may  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  the 
comparison  between  the  human  form  —  the  Personal  Ego  —  and 
a  pot  made    of   earth    by  the  Supreme    Potter  ( if   one   may  be 


96       -  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 

LXXXIIL* 

Shapes  of  all   Sorts  and   Sizes,  great  and  small, 
That  stood  along  the   floor  and  by  the   wall; 

And  some   loquacious  Vessels  were;   and  some 
Listen'd,  perhaps,  but  never  talk'd  at  all. 

LXXXVII  {post). 
FitzGerald  constructed  these  three  quatrains  from  O.  103. 

I  went  last  night  into  the  workshop  of  a  potter, 
I  saw  two  thousand  pots,  some  speaking,  and  some  silent ; 
Suddenly  one  of  the  pots  cried  out  aggressively:  — 
*-*•  Where  are  the  pot-maker,  and  the  pot-buyer,  and  the 
pot -seller  ?  ^^ 

Ref.:  O.  103,  C.  301,  L.  470,  B.  466,  S.  P.  242,  P.  102,  B.  ii.  323,  T. 
202  and  297,  P.  V.  37. — W.  283,  N.  243,  E.  C.  26,  V.  509. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  reading  of  quatrain  87,  1.  4, 
in  the  third  edition  of  FitzGerald  is  close  to  this  original. 
«Who  makes  — Who  buys  — Who  sells— Who  is  the  Pot?^^ 

"Hunger  stricken  Ramazan  ^^  is  described  in  C.  198. 

They  say  that  the  moon  of  Ramazan^  shines  out  again 
Henceforth  one  cannot  linger  over  the  wine; 
At  the  end  of   Sha'ban  I  will  drink  so  much  wine 
That  during  Ramazan  I   may  be   found  drunk  until  the 
festival  (arrives). 

Ref.:  C.  198,  L.  352,  B.  348,  S.  P.  172,  P.  347,  B.  ii.  216,  T.  125.— 
W.  188,  N.  172,  V.  351.     See  also  the  quatrain  from  the  «  Notes, >^  p.  155. 

allowed  the  phrase )  is  constantly  recurrent  in  all  ruba'iyat  at- 
tributed to  Omar  Khayyam.  The  section  is  therefore  to  a  great 
extent  a  poetical  reflection  upon  this  phase  of  the  philosophy  of 
the  ruba'iyat.  The  use  FitzGerald  has  made  of  O.  103  cannot 
fail  to  amaze  the  student.  Vide  his  own  Note  to  quatrain  89. 
I  Ramazan  ( or  Ramadan  )  is  the  ninth  month  of  the  Muhammadan 
year,  which  is  observed  as  a  month  of  fasting  and  penance, 
during  which  rigid  Moslems  may  neither  eat,  drink,  wash,  nor 
caress  their  wives,  excepting  so  far  as  is  necessary  to  support 
life.  Sha'ban  is  the  month  immediately  preceding  it.  Shaw- 
wal  is  the  month  that  follows  it,  which  begins  with  the  great 
feast  of  Bairam,  the  festival  referred  to  in  line  4. 


HERON-ALLEN   ANALYSIS   OF   FITZGERALD        97 

LXXXIV. 

Said  one  among  them  —  "  Surely  not  in  vain 
My  substance  of  the  common  Earth  was  ta'en 
And  to  this  Figure  moulded,  to  be  broke, 
Or  trampled  back  to  shapeless  Earth  again.  *^ 

The  sentiment  of  this  quatrain  is  traceable  in  C.  293. 

There  is  a  cup  which  wisdom  loud  acclaims. 

And  for  its  beauty  gives  it  a  hundred  kisses  on  the  brow, 

Such  a  sweet  cup,  this  Potter  of  the  World 

Makes,  and  then  shatters  it  upon  the  ground. 

Ref.:    C.  293,  L.  456,  B.  452,  B.  ii.  321,  T.  194. — W.  290,  V.  495. 


LXXXV. 

Then  said  a  Second  —  ^^  Ne'er  a  peevish  Boy 

Would   break   the   Bowl  from  which  he  drank  in  joy; 

And  he  that  with  his  hand  the  Vessel  made 
Will  surely  not  in  after  Wrath  destroy.* 

The  inspiration  for  this  quatrain  comes  from  O.  19, 

The  elements  of  a  cup  which  he  has  put  together, 
Their  breaking  up  a  drinker  cannot  approve  ;i 
All  these  heads  and  feet  —  with  his  finger-tips, 
For  love   of    whom  did    he    make   them?  —  for  hate  of 
whom  did  he  break  them  ? 

Ref.:    O.  19,  C.  64,  L.  40,  S.  P.  37,  P.  ii.  7,  P.  95,  B.  ii.  77.  T.  309.— 
W.  42,  N.  38,  V.  220. 


LXXXVI. 

After  a  momentary  silence  spake 
Sotne  Vessel  of  a  more  ungainly  make; 

**  They  sneer  at  me  for  leaning  all  awry: 
What !  did  the  Hand  then  of  the  Potter  shake  ? » 

I     A  very  obscure  distich  to  translate.     The  sense    is  here,  however, 

7 


98        QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

This  quatrain  is  a  perfect  reflection  and  companion  of 
all  these  Kuza  Nama  quatrains,  but  I  have  not  found  a 
ruba'i  in  O.  or  C.  which  can  be  pointed  out  as  having 
directly  inspired  ^  it.  It  must,  I  think,  be  considered 
too-ether  with  No.   88. 


LXXXVII. 

Whereat  some  one  of  the  loquacious  Lot  — 
I  think  a  Sufi  pipkin — waxing  hot  — 

«A11  this  of  Pot  and  Potter  — Tell  me,  then, 
Who  is  the  Potter    pray,  and  who  the  Pot  ?  " 


LXXXVII.  Ante  sub  LXXXIIL 


LXXXVIIL 

"Why,^^  said  another,   "Some  there  are  who  tell 
Of  one  who  threatens  he  will  toss  to  Hell 

The  luckless  Pots  he  marr'd  in  making — Pish! 
He's  a  Good  Fellow,  and  'twill  all  be  well.^* 

The  inspiration  for  this   quatrain,  and  I    think  for  No. 
86,  comes  from  C.   69  and  C.    159: 

Since  the  Director  set  in  order  the  elements  of  natures, 
For  what  cause  does  He  again    disperse  them  into  loss 

and  deficiency  ? 
If  they  are  good,  why  should  He  break  them  ? 
And  if  they  turn  out  bad,  well,  why  is  there  any  blame 

to  these  forms  ? 

Ref.:  C.  69,   L.   103,   B.   99,   P.  94,   B.   ii.   107.  —  W.    126,   V.   103. 

I  Compare  Romans  ch.  ix.  v.  21.  <<  Hath  not  the  potter  power  over 
the  clay,  of  the  same  lump  to  make  one  vessel  unto  honour, 
and  another  unto  dishonour. » 


HERON-ALLEN  ANALYSIS   OF   FITZGERALD        99 

They  say  that  at  the  resurrection  there  will  be  much 
searching, 

And  that  that  excellent  Friend  will  be  hasty; 

Nothing  but  good  ever  came  from  the  Unalloyed  Good- 
ness, 

Be  happy!  for  the  upshot  will  be  all  right! 

Ref.:  C.   159,  L.    316,  B.    312,  S.  P.    178,    P.   197.— W.    193,  N.   178, 
V.  318. 


LXXXIX. 

<*  Well, "  murmured  one,   ^^  Let  whoso  make  or  buyj 
My  Clay  with  long  Oblivion  is  gone  dry: 

But  fill  me  with  the  old  familiar  Juice, 
Methinks  I  might  recover  by  and  by.  ^* 

This  quatrain  is  inspired  by  C.    188  and  O,    116: 

At  that  moment  when  the  plant  of   my  existence  shall 

be  rooted  up. 
And  its  branches  scattered  in  all  directions; 
If  then  they  make  a  flagon  of  my  clay, 
When  they  fill  it  with  wine  it  will  live  again. 

Ref.:  C.  188,  S.   P.  115.— N.   115. 

When  I  am  abased  beneath  the  foot  of  Destiny, 

And  am  rooted  up  from  the  hope  of  life. 

Take  heed  that  thou   makest   nothing    but    a  goblet  of 

my  clay, 
Haply  when  it  is  full  of  wine  I   may  revive. 

Ref.:  O.   116.  C.  345,  L.  539,  B.  534,  S.  P.  289,  P.   227.    B.  ii.  385. 
T.  230,  P.  V.  146.  —  W.  330,  N.  290,  V.  579. 


K)       QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

XC. 

So  while  the  Vessels  one  by  one  were  speaking, 
The  little  Moon  look'd  in  that  all  were  seeking: 

And  then  they  jogg'd  each  other,  "  Brother  !  Brother! 
Now  for  the  Porter's  shoulder-knot  a-creaking !  '* 


This   quatrain   which   concludes  the    Kuza   Nam  a  is  in- 
spired by  the  concluding  quatrain  of  O.    158. 

The  month  of  Ramazan  passes  and  Shawwal  comes. 
The  season  of  increase,  and  joy,  and  storytellers  comes ; 
Now  comes  that  time  when  "  Bottles  upon  the  shoulder!  * 
They  say  —  for  the  porters  come  and  are  back  to  back.  ^ 

Ref.:  O.   158.— W.  218. 


XCI. 


Ah,  with  the  Grape  my  fading  life  provide. 
And  wash  the  Body  whence  the  Life  has  died, 

And  lay  me,  shrouded  in  the  living  Leaf, 
By  some  not  unfrequented  Garden-side. 

This  quatrain  owes  its  inspiration  to  C.    12. 

When  I  am  dead  wash  me  with  wine. 
Say  my  funeral  service  with  pure  wine, 
If  thou  wishest  that  thou  shouldst  see  me   on   the    res- 
urrection-day 
Thou  must  seek  me  in  the  earth  of   the  tavern  thresh- 
old. 

Rcf.:  C.  12,  L.  13.  B.  12,  S.  P.  7,  P.  299,  B.  ii.  9,  T.   12.— W.  6,  N.  7, 
V.   II. 

I  i.e..  Helping  one  another  to  raise  their  loads.  Prof.  Denison  Ross 
suggests  that  this  refers  to  the  cry  of  tlie  porters  and  mule- 
teers in  the  narrow  streets  of  Persian  cities.  «  Pus  hi  !  Pusht  /  » 
i.e.,  "Mind  your  backs !» 


THE  APPROACH  TO  NA  IS  HA  PUP 
From  a  painting  by  J.  P.  Herbert 


HERON-ALLEN   ANALYSIS   OF   FITZGERALD       loi 

O.   69  may  also  be  quoted: 

Take  heed  to  stay  me  with  the  wine-cup, 
And  make  this  amber  1  face  like  a  ruby; 
When  I  die,   wash  me  with  wine, 

And  out  of  the  wood  of  the   vine   make   the    planks  of 
my  coffin. 

Ref.:  O.  69,  C.  158,  L.  308,  B.  304,  S.  P.  109,  P.  212,  B.  ii.  199,  T. 
143,  P.  V.   153.— W.   139,  N.   109,  V.  311. 


XCIL 


That  ev'n  my  buried  Ashes  such  a  snare 
Of  Vintage  shall  fling-  up  into  the  Air 
As  not  a  True-believer  passing  by 
But  shall  be  overtaken  unaware. 

This  quatrain  is  translated  from  C.    16. 

I  will  drink  so  much  wine  that  this  aroma  of   wine 
Shall  rise  from  the  earth  when  I  am  beneath  it; 
So  that  when  a  drinker  shall  pass  above  my  body, 
He  shall  become  drunk  and   degraded   from  the  aroma 
of  my  potations. 

Ref.:  C.   16,  L.  28.  B.  26,  S.  P.  14,  B.  ii.   11.— W.   17,  N.   14,  V.  27. 


XCIII. 


Indeed  the  Idols  I  have  loved  so  long 

Have  done  my  credit  in  this  World  much  wrong: 

Have  drown'd  my  Glory  in  a  shallow  Cup, 
And  sold  my  Reputation  for  a  Song. 

The  inspiration  for  this  quatrain  comes  from  C.  170. 

I  Kah-ruba  means  literally  <* attracting  straws'*;  hence  « amber, » 
the  fjAEKTpov  of  the  Greeks.  Here  it  is  used  in  the  descriptive 
sense  to  mean  "yellow.** 


I02  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 

When  my  mood  inclined  to  prayer  and  fasting, 

I  said  that  all  my  salvation  was  attained; 

Alas!     that    those     Ablutions i    are    destroyed    by    my 

pleasures, 
And  that  Fast  of  mine  is   annulled   by  half   a   draught 

of  wine. 

Ref.:  C.   170,  L.   366,  B.  362.  S.  P.  162,  P.  343,  B.  ii.  207,  T.   118.— 
W.  180,  N.   162,  V.  365. 

The  last  line  is  suggested  by  O.   22. 


XCIV. 

Indeed,  indeed,   Repentance  oft  before 
I  swore — but  was  I  sober  when  I  swore  ? 

And    then     and     then     came    Spring,    and    Rose-in- 
hand 
My  thread-bare  Penitence  apieces  tore. 

This  quatrain  is  inspired  by  C.    431. 

Every  day  I  resolve  to  repent  in  the   evening. 
Making  repentance  of  the  brimful  goblet  and  cup; 
Now    that    the    season    of    roses  2    has  come,    I    cannot 

grieve 
Give  penitence  for  repentance  in    the    season   of   roses, 

O  Lord! 

Ref.:  C.   431,  L.  655,  B.  647,  B.   ii.  510.  — W.  425,  V.  704. 


xcv. 


And  much  as  Wine  has  play'd  the  Infidel, 
And  robb'd  me  of  my  Robe  of  Honour  —  Well, 

I  wonder  often  what  the  Vintners  buy 
One  half  so  precious  as  the  stuff  they  sell. 

1  IVuzu,    the   ceremonial    Ablution    enjoined    upon    Muhammadans 

to  put  them  into  a  state  of  grace  before  prayer. 

2  Wakt-i-gtil  =  the  season  of  roses,  a  common  synonym  for  Spring. 


HERON-ALLEN   ANALYSIS   OF   FITZGERALD       103 
The  original  of  this  quatrain  is  O.  62. 

Although  wine  has  rent  my  veil  (of  reputation), 

So  long  as  I  have  a  soul  I  will  not   be  separated  from 

wine ; 
I  am  in  perplexity  concerning  vintners,  for  they  — 
What  will  they  buy  that  is  better  than  what  they  sell  ? 

Ref.:  O.  63,  C.   196,  L.  350,    B.  346,    P.  3",    B.  ii.  167,  T.    123,  P. 
iv.  63,  P.  V.  202.— W.  208,  N.  463,  E.  C.  II,  V.  350. 


XCVI. 


Yet  Ah,  that  Spring  should  vanish  with  the  Rose! 
That  Youth's  sweet-scented  manuscript  should  close! 

The  Nightingale  that  in  the  branches  sang, 
Ah  whence,  and  whither  flown  again,  who  knows! 

This  quatrain  is  translated  from  C.   223. 

Alas !  that  the  book  of  youth  is  folded  up  ? 

And  that  this  fresh  purple  spring  is  winter-stricken  ;i 

That  bird  of  joy,  whose  name  is  Youth, 

Alaj!  I  know  not  when  it  came  nor  when  it  went. 

Ref. :    C.  223,    L.  332,    B.  328,    S.   P.   128,    B.  ii.   155,    T.    161.— W. 
155,  N.  128,  V.  334. 


J      XCVII.* 

Would  but  the  Desert  of  the  Fountain  yield 
One  glimpse  —  if  dimly,   yet  indeed,   reveal'd, 

To  which  the  fainting  Traveller  might   spring, 
As  springs  the  trampled  herbage  of  the  field! 

This  quatrain  is  inspired  by  C.  509. 

I     Literally    «has  become    Dai,»   the    first    winter-month;    translated 
"December,*  sub  quatrain  No.  9. 


I04  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 

Oh!  would  that  there  were  a  place  of  repose, 
Or  that  we  might  come  to  the  end  of  the  road; 
Would  that  from  the   heart    of   earth,  after   a   hundred 

thousand   years, 
We  might  all  hope  to  blossom  again   like    the  verdure. 

Ref. :  C.  509,  L.  768,  B.  754,  S.  P.  395,  B.  ii.  522. — W.  442,  N.  400, 
V.  820. 


XCVIII.* 

Would  but  some  winged  Angel  ere  too  late 
Arrest  the  yet  unfolded  Roll  of  Fate, 

And  make  the  stern  Recorder  otherwise 
Enregister,  or  quite  obliterate! 

This  quatrain  in  its  original  form  in  the  second  edition 
was  closer  to  the  original  Persian. 

Oh  if  the  World  were  but  to  re-create, 

That  we  might  catch  ere  closed  the  Book  of  Fate, 

And  make  the  Writer  on  a  fairer  leaf 
Inscribe  our  names,  or  quite  obliterate! 

It  owes  its  inspiration  to  N.   457. 

I  would  that  God  should  entirely  alter  the  world, 
And  that  he  should  do    it   now,   that  I    might    see    him 

do  it; 
And   either    that    he    should    cross    my    name    from    the 

Roll, 
Or  else  raise  my  condition   from  want  to  plenty.  1 

Re/.:  N.  457.   S.  P.   451.— W.  486,  V.   841. 

I     X//..'  "Or  from  the  invisible  world  increase  my  daily  provision. >> 


HERON-ALLEN   ANALYSIS   OF   FITZGERALD       105 
XCIX. 

Ah,   Love!  could  you  and  I  with  Him  conspire 
To  grasp  this  sorry  Scheme  of  Things  entire, 
Would  not  we  shatter  it  to  bits  —  and  then 
Re-mould  it  nearer  to  the  Heart's  Desire! 

*  *  *  *  *  * 

This  quatrain  is  translated  from  C.   395. 

Had  I,  like  God,  control  of  the  heavens, 

Would  I  not  do  away  with  the  heavens  altogether, 

Would    I    not    so   construct    another    heaven    from    the 

beginning 
That,  being  free,  one  might  attain  to  the  heart's  desire  ? 

Ref.:  C.  395.  L-  594.   B.  587,  S.  P.  337,   P.  98,   B.  ii.  450,  T.   268.— 

w.  379,  N.  340,  y.  641. 


Yon  rising  moon  that  looks  for  us  again  — 
How  oft  hereafter  will  she  wax  and  wane; 

How  oft  hereafter  rising  look  for  us 
Through  this  same  Garden  —  and  for  one  in  vain. 

This  quatrain  in  its  various  forms  is  inspired  by  O.  5. 

Since  no  one  will  guarantee  thee  a  to-morrow, 
Make  thou  happy  now  this  lovesick  heart ;  ^ 
Drink  wine  in  the  moonlight,  O  Moon,  for   the  moon  2 
Shall  seek  us  long  and  shall  not  find  us. 

Ref.:  O.  5.  C.  7,  L.  5,  S.  P.  8.  P.  219,  B.  4,  B.  ii.  8,  T.  6,  P.  v. 
168.  — W.  7,  N.  8,  E.  C.  5,  V.  4. 

1  C.  reads  "this  heart  full  of  melancholy  (or  passion). >> 

2  It  will  be  observed  that  this  quatrain  in    the  first  edition  came  a 

good  deal  closer  to  the  original  than  this. 


io6  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 

CI. 

And  when  like  her,  Oh  Saki,  you  shall  pass 
Among  the  Guests  Star-scatter'd  on  the  Grass, 

And  in  your  joyous  errand  reach  the  spot 
Where  I  made  One  —  turn  down  an  empty  Glass ! 

This  quatrain  is  taken  from  O.   83  and  84. 

Friends  when  ye  hold  a  meeting  together, 

It  behoves  ye  warmly  to  remember  your  friend; 

When  ye  drink  wholesome  wine  together, 

And  my  turn  comes,  turn  (a  goblet)  upside  down. 

Ref.:  O.   83.— W.   234,  V.  459. 

Friends,  when  with   consent  ye  make   a  tryst  together, 

And  take  delight  in  one  another's  charms, 

When   the  Cup-bearer   takes    (round)    in   his    hand    the 

Mugh  1  wine. 
Remember   a  certain   helpless  one  in  your  benediction. 

Ref.:  O.  84,   L.  290,  B.   286,   S.  P.    191,   P.   226,  B.  ii.   245.  — W.  205, 
N.   192,  V.  293. 

I  Maghanah  means  anything  connected  with  the  Maghs  or  Magians 
(/.  e.,  the  Guebres  or  Fire-worshippers),  and  came  to  be  a 
synonj^m  for  age,  superiority,  excellence,  in  which  sense  it  is 
used  here.  S.  Rousseau  has  a  very  interesting  note  upon  the 
history  of  this  word  at  p.  176  of  his  « Flowers  of  Persian 
Literature '>  (London,  1801). 


HERON-ALLEN   ANALYSIS   OF   FITZGERALD       107 


APPENDIX. 


In  addition  to  the  quatrains  composing  the  final  form 
in  which  we  know  his  poem,  there  are  a  few  stray 
quatrains  scattered  about  Edward  FitzGerald's  Introduction 
and  Notes.  There  are  also  two  quatrains  which  appeared 
in  the  first  edition  only,  and  nine  that  appeared  in  the 
second  edition  only.  I  do  not  think  that  this  work  would 
be  complete  without  an  attempt  to  identify  these  quatrains 
in  the  original  texts  which  inspired  them. 


IN  THE  INTRODUCTION.! 

Page  4. 

Khayyam,  who  stitched  the  Tents  of  Science, 
Has  fallen  in  Grief's  furnace  and  been  suddenly  burned; 
The  shears  of  Fate   have  cut  the  tent-ropes  of  his  life, 
And  the  Broker  of  Hope  has  sold  him  for  nothing! 

The  quatrain  upon  p.  4  is  a  literal  translation  by  Prof. 
Cowell  of  O.    22. 

Ref. :  O.  22,  C.  59,  L.  74,  B.  70.  S.  P.   81,  P.  205,  B.  ii.  94,  T.  307, 
P.  iv.  65,  P.  V.   195.— W.  83,  N.  81,  V.  73. 


Page  7. 


Oh,  Thou  who  burn'st  in  Heart  for  those  who  burn 
In  Hell,   whose  fires  thyself  shall  feed  in  turn; 

How  long  be  crying,   "  Mercy  on  them,  God !  '^ 
Why,  who  art  Thou  to  teach,  and  He  to  learn  ? 

The  quatrain   upon    p.   7    is    FitzGerald's   rendering  of 
C.    I. 

I     Meaning  FitzGerald's  Introduction.     See  Page  i. 


io8       QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

O,  burnt  one    (born)  of   the  burnt!    destined  in  turn  to 

burn, 
And  oh,  thou!  from  whom  the  fires  of  Hell  shall  blaze, i 
How  long   vvilt  thou  keep    saying,   "  Have   mercy   upon 

Omar!'> 
Wilt  thou  be  a  teacher  of  mercy  to  God? 

Ref.  :   C.   I,  L.  769,    B.  755,  S.   P.  453,    P.  ii.  i,  B.  ii.  537,  T.   i.— 
W.  488,  N.  459,  V.  821. 


Page  7. 


If  I  myself  upon  a  looser  Creed 
Have  loosely  strung  the  Jewel  of  Good  deed, 
Let  this  one  thing  for  my  Atonement  plead 
That  One  for  Two  I  never  did  misread. 

The  quatrain  on  p.  7  is  FitzGerald's  rendering  of  O.  i. 

If  I  have  never  threaded  the  pearl  2  of  thy  service, 
And  if  I  have  never  wiped  the  dust  of  sin  from  my  face, 
Nevertheless,   I  am  not  hopeless  of  thy  mercy. 
For  the  reason  that  I  have  never  said  that  One  was  Two.  3 

Ref.  :  O.   I,  C.  274,    L.  423,  B.  419,    P.  4,  S.  P.  228,  B.  ii.  302,  P. 
iv.  8.— W.  268,  N.  229,  V.  461. 

1  Prof.  Cowell   says:  «I   am   not  sure,  but    I  fancy    this  hard   verse 

really  is:  <0  thou  who  art  burned  (in  sorrow)  for  one  burnt  (in 
hell) — thyself  being  doomed  to  be  burnt.*  If  this  is  correct 
(which  is  most  probable),  the  accuracy  of  FitzGerald's  trans- 
lation is  remarkable.  >> 

2  The  phrase  gaiihar  steftan  =  *^\.o  thread  pearls  >>  is  used  in  Persian 

to  mean  <<  to  write  verses  '>''  or  « to  tell  a  story. »  Omar  uses  it 
here  referring  to  the  generally  antiuomian  tendency  of  his 
ruba'iyat. 

3  In  this  line  Omar  claims  consideration   on  the  ground  that  he  has 

never  questioned  the  Unity  of  God.  Taw  hid  kerdan  =  to  ac- 
knowledge One  God.  Muhammadanism  is  essentially  Unitarian. 
FitzGerald  appears  to  have  missed  the  meaning  here,  revers- 
ing the  doctrine,  unless  he  means  «  I  never  rnisreoid  One  as 
Two.» 


HERON-ALLEN  ANALYSIS   OF   FITZGERALD       109 
IN  THE  NOTES. 
XVIII. 

The  Palace  that  to  Heav'n  his  pillars  threw, 
And  Kings  the  forehead  on  his  threshold  drew  — 

I  saw  the  solitary  Ringdove  there, 
And  "  Coo,  coo,  coo !  ^^  she  cried,  and    ^^  Coo,  coo,  coo. " 

The  quatrain   in  the  note    to  quatrain  No.   18   is  trans- 
lated from  C.  419. 

That  palace  that  reared  its  pillars  wp  to  heaven, 
Kings  prostrated  themselves  upon  its  threshold; 
I  sav/  a  dove  that,  upon  its  battlements, 
Uttered  its  cry :  *  Where,  where,  where,  where  ?  '^  1 

i?-?/".  .•  C.  419,  L.  627,    B.  619,  S.  P.  347,  P.   140,    B.  ii.  459,    P.  iv. 
13-— W.  392,  N.  350,  V.  677. 


XC. 

Be  of  Good  Cheer  —  the  sullen  Month  will  die, 
And  a  young  Moon  requite  us  by  and  by: 

Look  how  the  Old  one,  meagre,  bent,  and  wan 
With  Age  and  Fast,   is  fainting  from  the  Sky! 

The   quatrain  in  the  note  to  quatrain  No.   90  is  trans- 
lated from  C.    218. 

Be  happy:  for  the  moon  of  thy  festival  will  come. 
The  means  of  mirth  will  all  be  propitious; 
This  moon  has  become  lean,   bent-figured  and  thin, 
Thou  may'st  say  that  it  will  sink  under  this  trouble. 

J?f/.  :  C.   218,  B.  ii.   186. 

I  L.  I.  ///.  « rubbed  its. side  with  heaven. »  This  is  the  quatrain  that 
R.  B.  M.  Binning  found  written  upon  a  stone  in  the  ruins  of 
Persepolis  (A  Journal  of  Two  Years'  Travel  in  Persia,  Ceylon, 
etc.,  London,  1857,  Vol.  ii.  p.  20).  FitzGerald  quotes  it  in  a 
letter  to  Prof.  Cowell,  under  date  13th  January,  1859.  (Letters 
and  Literary  Remains  of  Edward  FitzGerald,  London,  1889. 
Macmillan,  3  vols.,  and  1894,  2  vols.)  The  word  /ku  in  Persian 
signifies  «  Where  ?  » 


no  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 

IN  THE  FIRST  EDITION. 

XXXIII. 

Then  to  the  rolling  Heav*n  itself  I  cried, 
Asking,   ^^  What  Lamp  had  Destiny  to  guide 

<^  Her  little  Children  stumbling  in  the  Dark  ?  ** 
And  —  "A  blind  Understanding!'^  Heav'n  replied. 

XLV. 

But  leave  the  Wise  to  wrangle,    and  with  me 
The  quarrel  of  the   Universe  let  be; 

And,  in  some  corner  of  the  Hubbub  coucht, 
Make  Game  of  that  which  makes  as  much  of  Thee. 

XXXVII. 

Ah !  fill  the  Cup  —  what  boots  it  to  repeat 
How  Time  is  slipping  underneath  our  Feet  ? 

Unborn  To-morrow  and  dead  Yesterday. 
Why  fret  about  them  if  To-day  be  sweet  ? 

In  the  first  edition  we  find  quatrain  No.  33,  which, 
like  its  distant  cousin  in  the  fourth  edition  (No.  34), 
appears  to  have  no  near  parallel  in  the  texts.  No.  45 
is  a  quatrain  in  a  like  predicament,  and  it  may  be  for 
this  reason  that  FitzGerald  dropped  it  out  of  all  sub- 
sequent editions. 

The  only  other  quatrain  peculiar  to  the  first  edition 
is  No.  37.  This  would  appear  to  have  been  inspired  by 
11.  3  and  4  of  O.  20,  quoted  in  the  parallels  to  quatrain 
No.   57  and  by  O.    17,  11.   3  and  4. 

Nothing   thou  canst  say   of   yesterday,    that   is   past,   is 

sweet ; 
Be  happy  and  do  not  speak  of  yesterday,  for  to-day  is 

sweet. 

Ref. :  O.  17,  C.  84,  L.  193,  B.  190,  P.  126,  B.  ii.  59,  T.  65  and  353, 
P.  iv.  68,  P.  V.  63.— W.   112,   E.  C.  6,  V.   189. 


HERON-ALLEN  ANALYSIS   OF   FITZGERALD      iii 


IN  THE  SECOND   EDITION, 

The   quatrains    peculiar  to   tho   second   edition    are   as 
follows : 

XIV. 

Were  it  not  Folly,    Spider-like  to  spin 

The  Thread  of  present  Life  away  to  win  — 

What  ?  for  ourselves,  who  know  not  if  we  shall 
Breathe  out  the  very  Breath  we  now  breathe  in! 

This  quatrain  is  inspired  by  O.    136 

How  long  shall  I  grieve  about  what  I  nave  or  have 
not, 

And  whether  I  shall  pass  this  life  light-heartedly  or 
not? 

Fill  up  the  wine -cup,   for  I  do  not  know 

That  I  shall  breathe  out  the  breath  that  I  am  draw- 
ing in. 

Ref. :  O.   136,    C.  504  and  427,    L.  740,    B.  726,    S.  P.  362,    P.  207, 
B.  ii.  484,  P.  V.  64.— W.  411,  N.  366,  V.  730. 


XXVIII. 

This   was   replaced   by   No.    6^   in   the  fourth  and  fifth 
editions,  taken  from  the  same  original. 


XLIV. 


Do  you,  within  your  little  hour  of  Grace, 
The  waving  Cypress  in  your  Arms  enlace, 
Before  the  Mother  back  into  her  arms 
Fold,   and  dissolve  you  in  a  last  embrace. 

The  sentiment  of  this  quatrain  is  traceable  in  C.   189, 
11.  I  and  2,  and  in  C.  195. 


112  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 

Be  happy!  for  the  time  will  come 

(When)  all  bodies  will  be  hidden  in  the  earth. 

Ref.:  C.  189,  L.  393,  B.  389,  S.  P.  160,  B.  ii.  203.— N.   160,  V.  390. 

My  whole  mood  is  in  sympathy  with  rosy  cheeks, 
My  hand  is  always  grasping  the  wine  cup; 
I  exact   from   every  part    (of  me)   its  allotted  function, 
Ere  that  those  parts  (of  me)  be  mingled  with  the  all. 

Ref.  :  C.  195,  L.  349,  B.  345,  S.  P.   163,  P.  287,  B.  ii.  206,  T.  122.— 
W.  181,  N.   163,  V.  349. 


LXV. 


If  but  the  Vine  and  Love-abjuring  Band 
Are  in  the   Prophet's  Paradise  to  stand, 

Alack,   I  doubt  the  Prophet's  Paradise  ' 

Were  empty  as  the  hollow  of  one's  Hand. 

This  quatrain  is  inspired  by  O.    127  and  by  C.   60. 

To    drink    wine    and    consort    with   a   company    of    the 

beautiful 
Is  better  than  practising  the  hypocrisy  of  the  zealot; 
If  the  lover  and  the  drunkard  are  doomed  to  hell, 
Then  no  one  will  see  the  face  of  heaven. 

Ref.  :   O.   127,    L.  608,  B.  601,    S.  P.  339,    P.  330,  B.  ii.  453,  P.  v. 
151.— W.  381,  N.  342,  V.  655. 

FitzGerald  was  evidently  "  reminded  of  *  this  by  N.  64 
which  is  C.   60. 

They  say  that  drunkards  will  go  to  hell, 
It  is  a  repugnant  creed,   the  heart  cannot  believe  it; 
If  drunken  lovers  are  doomed  to  hell. 
To-morrow  heaven  will  be  bare  like  the  palm    of  one's 
hand. 

Ref.:   C.  60,    L.    158,    B.   155,    S.   P.  64,    T.  308.   P.  v.  29. --W.  67, 
N.  64,  V.    156. 


HERON-ALLEN  ANALYSIS   OP   FITZGERALD      113 


LXXVII. 

For  let  Philosopher  and  Doctor  preach 

Of  what  they  will,  and  what  they  will  not, —  each 

Is  but  one  Link  in  an  eternal  Chain 
That  none  can  slip,  or  break,  or  over-reach. 

For  this   quatrain  I  can  find   neither   authority    nor  in- 
spiration. 


LXXXVI. 

Nay,  but,  for  terror  of  his  wrathful  Face, 
I  swear  I  will  not  call  Injustice  Grace; 

Not  one  Good  Fellow  of  the  Tavern  but 
Would  kick  so  poor  a  Coward  from  the  place. 

I  think  the  inspiration  for  this  must  have  been  C.  8. 

No  man  is  he  whom  his  fellow  men  spurn. 

And  (at  the  same  time)  for  fear  of  his  malice  number 

among  the  good; 
If  a  drunkard  shows  reluctance  in  generosity, 
All  his  fellow  drunkards  hold  him  to  be  a  mean  fellow. 

Ref.:  C.  8,  L.  3,  B.  ii.   15,  T.  9.— V.  416. 


XC. 


And  once  again  there  gather'd  a  scarce  heard 
Whisper  among  them ;   as  it  were,   the  stirr'd 

Ashes  of  some  all  but  extinguisht  Tongue, 
Which  mine  ear  kindled  into  living  Word. 

This  was  a  fourth  quatrain  evolved  out  of  O.  103.     Vide 
quatrains  Nos.   82,   83,   and  87  ajite. 


114  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


XCIX. 

Whither  resorting-  from  the  vernal  Heat 
Shall  Old  Acquaintance  Old  Acquaintance  greet, 
Under  the  Branch  that  leans  above  the  Wall 
To  shed  his  Blossom  over  head  and  feet. 

This  quatrain,  interpolated  after  No.  gi  of  the  fourth 
edition  (=  No.  98  of  the  second  edition),  is  an  elaboration 
founded  upon  the  story  told  by  Nizam  ul-Mulk  and  re- 
corded by  FitzGerald  in  his  Introduction. 


CVII. 


Better,  oh  better,  cancel  from  the  Scroll 
Of  Universe  one  luckless  Human  Soul, 

Than  drop  by  drop  enlarge  the  Flood  that  rolls 
Hoarser  with  Anguish  as  the  Ages  roll. 

This  quatrain,  interpolated  after  the  quatrain  which 
became  No.  XCVIII.  in  the  fourth  edition,  was  no  doubt 
inspired  by  N.  457   (q.  v.  sub  No.  98  ante)  and  by  O.  54. 

What  the  Pen  has  written  never  changes, 
And  grieving  only  results  in  deep  affliction; 
Even  through  all  thy  life  thou  weepest  tears  of  blood, 
Not  one  drop  becomes  increased  beyond  what  it  is. 

Ref. :  O.  54,  B.  ii.  144. 


VARIATIONS 

BETWEEN     THE     SECOND,      THIRD     AND     FOURTH     EDITIONS    OF 

Fitzgerald's   translation    of 

OMAR     KHAYYAM 


STANZA 

I.  In  ed.    2 : 

Wake !  For  the  Sun  behind  yon  Eastern  height 
Has    chased    the    Session    of    the    Stars    from 

Night; 
And,    to    the    field    of     Heav'n    ascending, 

strikes 
The  Sultan's  Turret  with  a  Shaft  of  Light. 
In  the  first  draft  of   ed.    3    the    first   and   second 

lines  stood  thus: 
Wake!   For  the  Sun  before  him  into  Night 
A  Signal  flung  that  put  the  Stars  to  flight. 

II.  In  ed.   2  : 

Why  lags  the  drowsy  Worshipper  outside? 

V.  In  edd.    2  and  3: 

But  still  a  Ruby  gushes  from  the  Vine. 

IX.  In  edd.    2  and  3: 

Morning  a  thousand  Roses  brings,  you  say. 

X.  In  ed.    2 : 

Let  Rustum  cry  «  To  Battle ! »  as  he  likes. 
Or  Hatim  Tai  «  To  Supper  P'  — heed   not  you 

In  ed.   3: 

Let  Zal  and  Rustum  thunder  as  they  will. 

(115) 


ii6  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 

STANZA 

XII.  In  ed.   2 : 

Here  with  a  little  Bread  beneath  the  Bough, 
A    Flask    of    Wine,    a    Book    of    Verse  —  and 
Thou,  etc. 

XIII.  In  ed.   2  : 

Ah,  take  the  Cash,  and  let  the  Promise  go, 

Nor  heed  the  music  of  a  distant  Drum! 
XX.  In  ed.   2: 

And  this  delightful    Herb  whose   living  Green, 
XXII.        In  edd.   2  and  3 : 

That  from  his  Vintage  rolling  Time  has  prest. 

XXVI.  In  edd.   2  and  3: 

Of  the  Two  Worlds  so  learnedly,  are  thrust. 

XXVII.  In  ed.   2: 

Came  out  by  the  same  door  as  in  I  went. 

XXVIII.  In  edd.    2  and  3: 

And  with   my  own    hand  wrought   to   make   it 
grow. 

XXX.  In  ed.   2 : 

Ah,  contrite  Heav'n  endowed  us  with  the  Vine 
To  drug  the  memory  of  that  insolence ! 

XXXI.  In  ed.    2: 

And  many  Knots  unravel'd  by  the  Road. 

XXXII.  In  edd.   2  and  3: 

There    was   the    Veil    through    which    I    could 
not  see. 

XXXIII.  In  ed.   2 : 

Nor  Heav'n,  with  those  eternal  Signs  reveal'd. 

XXXIV.  In  ed.    2: 

Then  of  the  Thee  in  Me  who  works  behind 
The  Veil  of  Universe  I  cried  to  find 

A  Lamp  to  guide  me  through  the  darkness; 

and 
Something     then     said  — "  An     Understanding 

blind. » 

XXXV.  In  ed.   2: 

I  lean'd,  the  secret  Well  of  Life  to  learn. 


VARIATIONS   IN   THE  EDITIONS  117 

STANZA 

XXXVI.     In  ed.   2  : 

And  drink ;  and  that  impassive  Lip  I  kiss'd. 

XXXVIII.  In  ed.    2  the  only  difference  is  *^  For ''  instead   of 

*^  And  '^  in  the  first  line ;  but  in  the  first 

draft    of     ed.     3     the    stanza    appeared 

thus  : 
For,  in  your  Ear  a  moment  —  of  the  same 
Poor  Earth  from   w^hich    that    Human  Whisper 

came, 
The  luckless    Mould  in  v^hich  Mankind  was 

cast 
They  did  compose,  and  call'd  him  by  the  name. 
In  ed.   3  the  first  line  was  altered  to  — 

Listen  —  a  moment   listen!  —  Of   the    same,  etc. 

XXXIX.  In  ed.   2 : 

On  the  parcht  herbage  but  may  steal  below. 

XL.  In  ed.    2  : 

As  then  the  Tulip  for  her  wonted  sup 
Of  Heavenly  Vintage  lifts  her  chalice  up. 

Do     you,    twin     offspring    of     the     soil,    till 
Heav'n 
To  Earth  invert  you  like  an  empty  Cup. 

In    the    first    draft    of    ed.    3    the    stanza  is   the 
same  as    in    edd.    3    and    4,   except    that 
the  second  line  is  — 
Of  Wine  from  Heav'n  her   little  Tass  lifts  up. 

XLi.  In  ed.    2  and  the  first  draft  of  ed.   3: 

Oh,  plagued  no  more   with   Human    or    Divine 
To-morrow's  tangle  to  itself  resign. 

xLii.        In  ed.   2 :    . 

And  if  the  Cup  you   drink,  the  Lip  you  press, 
End  in  what  All  begins  and  ends  in  —  Yes; 

Imagine  then  you  are  what  heretofore 
You  were  —  hereafter  you  shall  not  be  less. 
The    first    draft    of   ed.  3   agrees  with  edd.  3  and 
4,   except  that  the  first  line  is  — 
And  if  the  Cup,  and  if  the  Lip  you  press. 


ii8  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 

STANZA 

xLiii.        In  ed.   2 : 

So  when  at  last  the  Angel  of  the  drink 
Of  Darkness  finds  you  by  the  river-brink, 

And,  proffering   his  Cup,  invites  your   Soul 
Forth  to  your  Lips  to  quaff  it  —  do  not  shrink. 

In  the  first  draft  of  ed.  3  the  only  change 
made  was  from  ^^  proffering  '*  to  ^^  offer- 
ing,*^ but  in  ed.  3  the  stanza  assumed 
the  form  in  which  it  also  appeared  in 
ed.  4.  The  change  from  "  the  Angel  * 
to  *^  that  Angel  **  was  made  in  MS.  by 
FitzGerald  in  a  copy  of  ed.   4. 

XLiv.        In  ed.   2: 

Is't  not  a  shame  —  is't  not  a  shame  for  him 
So  long  in  this  Clay  suburb  to  abide! 

XLV.          In  ed.    2 : 

But  that  is  but  a  Tent  wherein  may  rest. 

XLVi.  In  ed.    2  : 

And  fear  not  lest  Existence  closing  your 
Account,    should    lose,    or    know   the    type    no 
more. 

XLVii.       In  ed.    2  : 

As  much  as  Ocean  of  a  pebble-cast. 
In  ed.   3: 

As  the  Sev'n  Seas  should  heed  a  pebble-cast. 

XLViii.      In  ed.    2  : 

One  Moment  in  Annihilation's  Waste, 

One  Moment,  of  the  Well  of  Life  to  taste  — 

The  Stars  are  setting,  and  the  Caravan 
Draws    to    the    Dawn    of    Nothing — Oh   make 
haste. 
In   the    first   draft    of   ed.   3  the  third   line  origi- 
nally stood: 
Before  the  starting  Caravan  has  reach'd 

the  rest   of   the  stanza  being  as  in  edd. 
3  and  4. 


VARIATIONS  IN   THE   EDITIONS  119 

STANZA 

XLix.        In  ed.    2 : 

A  Hair,  they  say,  divides  the  False  and  True. 
The    change  from  '^  does  '*  to  *^  may  '^    in   the   last 
line  was  made  by  FitzGerald  in  MS. 
L.  In  ed.   2  : 

A  Hair,  they  say,  divides  the  False  and  True. 

Lii.  In  edd.   2  and  3: 

He  does  Himself  contrive,  enact,  behold. 
Liii.  In  the  first  draft  of  ed.   3: 

To-morrow,   when  You   shall  be  You  no  more. 
Liv.  In  ed.   2: 

Better  be   merry  with  the  fruitful  Grape. 
Lv.  In  ed.   2: 

You   know,    my    Friends,    how   bravely   in   my 
House 

For  a  new  Marriage  I  did  make  Carouse. 
Lvii.         In  ed.   2: 

Have  squared  the  Year  to  Human  Compass,  eh  ? 
If  so,  by  striking  from  the  Calendar. 
Lxii.         In  ed.    2 : 

When  the  frail  Cup  is  crumbled  into  Dust! 
Lxiii.        In  ed.    2  : 

The  Flower  that   once  is  blown   for   ever  dies. 
Lxv.         In  edd.    2  and  3: 

They  told  their  fellows,  and  to  Sleep  return'd. 
Lxvi.        In  ed.    2: 

And  after  many  days  my  Soul  return'd 

And  said,  ^^  Behold,  Myself  am  Heav'n  and  Hell." 
Lxvii.       In  ed.    2: 

And  Hell  the  Shadow  of  a  Soul  on  fire. 
Lxviii.     In  ed.    2 : 

Of  visionary  Shapes  that  come  and  go 

Round  with  this  Sun-illumin'd  Lantern  held. 
Lxix.       In  ed.   2  : 

Impotent  Pieces  of  the  Game  He  plays. 
Lxx.         In  ed.    2: 

But  Right  or  Left  as  strikes  the  Player  goes. 


120  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 

STANZA 

Lxxii.       In  ed.   2  and  the  first  draft  of  ed.   3 : 

And  that  inverted  Bowl  we  call  The  Sky. 
/ 

In  edd.   2  and  3 : 

As  impotently  rolls  as  you  or  I. 

Lxxix.     In  ed.   2: 

Pure  Gold  for  what  he  lent  us  dross-allay'd. 

Lxxxi.     In  ed.   2: 

For  all  the  Sin  the  Face  of  wretched  Man 
Is  black  with  —  Man's  Forgiveness  give  —  and 
take! 

Lxxxiii.  In  ed.   2: 

And  once  again  there  gather'd  a  scarce  heard 
Whisper  among  them;  as  it  were,   the  stirr'd 
Ashes  of  some  all  but  extinguisht  Tongue 
Which  mine  ear  kindled  into  living  Word. 

Lxxxiv.  In  ed.   2: 

My  Substance    from   the    common     Earth    was 
ta'en, 
That  He  who  subtly  wrought  me  into  Shape 
Should  stamp  me  back  to  shapeless  Earth 
again  ? 

Lxxxv.    In  ed.   2: 

Another  said  —  *  Why,  ne'er  a  peevish  Boy 
Would  break  the  Cup  from  which  he  drank 
in  Joy; 
Shall  He  that  of  His  own  free  Fancy 
made 
The  Vessel,  in  an  after-rage  destroy!  * 

Lxxxvi.  In  ed.   2: 

None  answer'd  this;  but  after  silence  spake, 

Lxxxvii.In  ed.    2: 

Thus  with  the  Dead  as  with  the  Living,  What  ? 
And   Why?  so  ready,  but  the   Wherefor  not, 

One  on  a  sudden  peevishly  exclaim'd, 
"  Which  is  the  Potter,  pray,  and  which  the 
Pot  ? » 


VARIATIONS   IN   THE   EDITIONS  121 

STANZA 

Lxxxviii.In  ed.   2: 

Said  one — *'•  Folks  of  a  surly  Master  tell, 
And  daub  his  Visage  with  the  Smoke  of  Hell: 
They  talk  of  some  sharp  Trial  of  us  —  Pish ! 
He's  a  Good  Fellow,  and  'twill  all  be  well.*> 
In  the  first  draft  of  ed.   3.  the  stanza  begins: 
"Why,**  said  another,   "Dismal  people  tell 
Of  an  old  vSavage  who  will  toss  to  Hell 
The  luckless  Pots,**  etc. 
Lxxxix.  In  ed.   2: 

"Well,**  said  another,   "Whoso  will,  let  try.** 
xc.  In  ed.   2 : 

One  spied  the  little  Crescent  all  were  seeking, 
xci.  In  ed.   2: 

And  wash  my  Body  whence  the  Life  has 
died, 
icciii.        In  ed..  2: 

Have  done  my  credit  in  Men's  eye  much 
wrong. 
Xcv.  In  ed.    2 : 

One  half  so  precious  as  the  ware  they  sell, 
xcvii.       In  ed.   2: 

Toward  which  the  fainting  Traveller  might 
spring, 
xcviii.      In  ed.   2: 

Oh  if  the  World  were  but  to  re-create, 
That  we  might  catch  ere  closed  the  Book  of 
Fate, 
And  make  The  Writer  on  a  fairer  leaf 
Inscribe  our  names,  or  quite  obliterate! 
xcix.       In  ed.   2: 

Ah  Love !  could  you  and  I  with  Fate  conspire. 
c.  In  ed.   2 : 

But  see!     The  rising  Moon  of  Heav'n  again 
Looks  for  us,  Sweet-heart,  through  the 
quivering  Plane: 
How  oft  hereafter  rising  will  she  look 
Among  those  leaves  —  for  one  of  us  in  vain! 


122 


QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


STANZA 

CI.  In  ed.    2: 

And  when  Yourself  with  silver  Foot  shall  pass. 
In  the  first  draft  of  ed.   3  *^  Foot  *  is    changed  to 

«step.» 
In  ed.   3: 

And  in  your  blissful  errand  reach  the  spot. 


STANZAS  WHICH  APPEAR  IN  THE 
SECOND  EDITION  ONLY 


XIV. 


XX. 


XXVIII. 


Were  it  not  Folly,   Spider-like  to  spin 

The  Thread  of  present  Life  away  to  win  — 

What  ?  for  ourselves,  who  know  not  if  we  shall 
Breathe  out  the  very  Breath  we  now  breathe  in! 

(This  stanza  is  quoted  in  the  note  to  stanza  xviii. 
in  the  third  and  fourth  editions.) 

Another  Voice,  when  I  am  sleeping,  cries, 
**The  Flower  should  open  with  the  Morning 
skies.  ® 
And  a  retreating  Whisper,  as  I  wake  — 
**The  Flower  that  once  has  blown  for  ever  dies.** 


XLiv.        Do  you,  within  your  little  hour  of  Grace, 
The  waving  Cypress  in  your  Arms  enlace, 
Before  the  Mother  back  into  her  arms 
Fold,  and  dissolve  you  in  a  last  embrace. 

Lxv.         If  but  the  Vine  and  Love-abjuring  Band 
Are  in  the  Prophet's  Paradise  to  stand. 

Alack,   I  doubt  the  Prophet's  Paradise 
Were  empty  as  the  hollow  of  one's  Hand. 

Lxxvii.    For  let  Philosopher  and  Doctor  preach 

Of  what  they  will,  and  what  they  will  not  —  each 

Is  but  one  Link  in  an  eternal  Chain 
That  none  can  slip,  or  break,  or  over-reach. 


STANZAS   IN   SECOND   EDITION   ONLY  123 

STANZA 

Lxxxvi.  Nay,  but,  for  terror  of  his  wrathful  Face, 
I  swear  I  will  not  call  Injustice  Grace, 

Not  one  Good  Fellow  of  the  Tavern  but 
Would  kick  so  poor  a  Coward  from  the  place. 

xc.  And  once  again  there  gather'd  a  scarce  heard 

Whisper  among  them;  as  it  were,  the  stirr'd 

Ashes  of  some  all  but  extinguisht  Tongue, 
Which  mine  ear  kindled  into  living  Word. 

(In  the  third  and  fourth  editions  stanza  lxxxiii.  takes  the 
place  of  this.) 

xcix.        Whither  resorting  from  the  vernal  Heat 

Shall  Old  Acquaintance  Old  Acquaintance  greet, 
Under  the  Branch  that  leans  above  the  Wall 
To  shed  his  Blossom  over  head  and  feet. 

(This  was  retained  in  the  first  draft  of  ed.  3.) 

cvii.         Better,  oh  better,  cancel  from  the  Scroll 
Of  Universe  one  luckless  Human  Soul, 

Than   drop   by    drop    enlarge   the   Flood   that 
rolls 
Hoarser  with  Anguish  as  the  Ages  Roll. 


QUATRAINS  OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


COMPARATIVE   TABLE  OF   STANZAS  IN  THE 
FOUR*    EDITIONS   OF    FITZGERALD 


Ed.  I 

Ed.  2 

Edd.  3  and  4 

I 

I 

I 

II 

II 

II 

III 

III 

III 

IV 

IV 

IV 

V 

V      • 

V 

VI 

VI 

VI 

VII 

VII 

VII 

VIII 

IX 

IX 

IX 

X 

X 

X 

XI 

XI 

XI 

XII 

XII 

XII 

XIII 

XIII 

xni 

XV 

XIV 

XIV 

XVII 

XVI 

XV 

XVI 

XV 

XVI 

XVIII 

XVII 

XVII 

XIX 

XVIII 

XVIII 

XXIV 

XIX 

XIX 

XXV 

XX 

XX 

XXI 

XXI 

XXI 

XXII 

XXII 

XXII 

XXIIl 

XXIII 

XXIII 

XXVI 

XXIV 

XXIV 

XXVII 

XXV 

XXV 

XXIX 

XXVI 

XXVI 

LXVI 

LXIII 

XXVII 

XXX 

XXVII 

XXVIII 

XXXI 

XXVIII 

XXIX 

XXXII 

XXIX 

XXX 

XXXIII 

XXX 

(124) 

^The  fifth  edition 

is  identical  with  the  fourth. 

COMPARATIVE   TABLE 


125 


Ed.  1 

XXXI 

XXXII 

XXXIII 

XXXIV 

XXXV 

XXXVI 

XXXVII 

XXXVIII 

XXXIX 

XL 

XLI 

XLII 

XLIII 

XLIV 

XLV 

XLVI 

XLVII 

XLVIII 

XLIX 

L 

LI 

LII 

LIII 

LIV 

LV 

LVI 

LVII 

LVIII 

LIX 

LX 

LXI 

LXII 

LXIII 

LXIV 

LXV 

LXVI 

LXVII 

LXVIII 

LXIX 


Ed.  3 

Edd.  3  and  4 

XXXIV 

XXXI 

XXXV 

XXXII 

XXXVII 

XXXIV 

XXXVIII 

XXXV 

XXXIX 

XXXVI 

XL 

XXXVII 

XLIX 

XLVIII 

LVI 

LIV 

LVII 

LV 

LVIII 

LVI 

LX 

LVIII 

LXI 

LIX 

LXII 

LX 

LXXIII 

LXVIII 

XLV 

XLII 

XLVI 

XLIII 

LXXIV 

LXIX 

LXXV 

LXX 

LXXVI 

LXXI 

LXXVIII 

LXXII 

LXXIX 

LXXIII 

LXXXI 

LXXV 

LXXXII 

LXXVI 

LXXXIII 

LXXVII 

LXXXVII 

LXXX 

LXXXVIII 

LXXXI 

LXXXIX 

LXXXII 

XCIV 

LXXXVII 

XCI 

LXXXIV 

XCII 

LXXXV 

XCIII 

LXXXVI 

xcv 

LXXXVIII 

XCVI 

LXXXIX 

XCVII 

XC 

XCVIII 

XCI 

c 

XCII 

CI 

XCIII 

126 


QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 


Ed.   I 

LXX 

LXXI 

LXXII 

LXXIII 

LXXIV 

LXXV 


Ed.  2 
CII 

cm 

CIV 

CVIII 
CIX 

ex 

VIII 
XIV 

XX 


Edd.  3  and  4 
XCIV 
xcv 

XCVI 
XCIX 
C 
CI 

VIII 

Note  on 
XVIII 


XXVIII 

XXXVI 

XLI 

XLII 

XLIII 

XLIV 

XLVII 

XLVIII 

L 

LI 

LII 

LIII 

LIV 

LV 

LIX 

LXIII 

LXIV 

LXV 

LXVII 

LXVIII 

LXIX 

LXX 

LXXI 

LXXII 

LXXVII 

LXXX 

LXXXIV 

LXXXV 


XXXIII 
XXXVIII 
XXXIX 
XL 

XLVI 

XLVII 

XLIX 

L 

LI 

LII 

LIII 

XLI 

LVII 

LXI 

LXII 

LXIV 

LXV 

XLIV 

XLV 

LXVI 

LXVII 

LXXIV 

LXXVIII 

LXXIX 


A.TIVE    TAB. 

LE                                127 

M.  2 

Edd.  3  and  4 

LXXXVI 

xc 

Lxxxin 

XCIX 

cv 

XCVII 

CVI 

XCVIII 

evil 

NOTE 

It  must  be  admitted  that  FitzGerald  took  great  liberties  with  the 
original  in  his  version  of  Omar  Khayyam.  The  first  stanza  is  entirely 
his  own,  and  in  stanza  xxxi.  of  the  fourth  edition  (xxxvi.  in  the  sec- 
ond) he  has  introduced  two  lines  from  Attar.  (See  «  Letters, »  p.  21; i.) 
In  stanza  lxxxi,  (fourth  edition),  writes  Professor  Cowell,  «  There  is 
no  original  for  the  line  about  the  snake:  I  have  looked  for  it  in  vain 
in  Nicolas;  but  I  have  always  supposed  that  the  last  line  is  Fitz- 
Gerald's  mistaken  version  of  Quatr.  236  in  Nicolas's  ed.  which  runs 
thus: 

^<0  thou  who  knowest  the  secrets  of  every  one's  mind. 
Who  graspest  every  one's  hand  in  the  hour  of  weakness, 
O  God,  give  me  repentance  and  accept  my  excuses, 
O  thou  who  givest  repentance  and    acceptest  the   excuses  of  every  one. 

« FitzGerald  mistook  the  meaning  of  giving  and  accepting  as 
used  here,  and  so  invented  his  last  line  out  of  his  own  mistake.  I 
wrote  to  him  about  it  when  I  was  in  Calcutta;  but  he  never  cared 
to  alter  it.» 


THE 
QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 

TRANSLATED   BY 

E.    H.    WHINFIELD,    M.  A. 


("9) 


INTRODUCTION 

OMAR  is  a  poet  who  can  hardly  be  translated  satisfac- 
torily otherwise  than  in  verse.  Prose  does  well 
enough  for  narrative  or  didactic  poetry,  where  the 
main  things  to  be  reproduced  are  the  matter  and  sub- 
stance; but  it  is  plainly  contra-indicated  in  the  case  of 
poetry  like  Omar's,  where  the  matter  is  little  else  than 
**the  commonplaces  of  the  lyric  ode  and  the  tragic 
chorus,  ^^  and  where  nearly  the  whole  charm  consists  in 
the  style  and  the  manner,  the  grace  of  the  expression 
and  the  melody  of  the  versification.  A  literal  prose  ver- 
sion of  such  poetry  must  needs  be  unsatisfactory,  because 
it  studiously  ignores  the  chief  points  in  which  the  at- 
tractiveness of  the  original  consists,  and  deliberately 
renounces  all   attempt  to  reproduce  them. 

In  deciding  on  the  form  to  be  taken  by  a  new  trans- 
lation of  Omar,  the  fact  of  the  existence  of  a  previous 
verse  translation  of  universally  acknowledged  merit  ought 
not,  of  course,  to  be  left  out  of  account.  The  successor 
of  a  translator  like  Mr.  Fitzgerald,  who  ventures  to  write 
verse,  and  especially  verse  of  the  metre  which  he  has 
handled  with  such  success,  cannot  help  feeling  at  almost 
every  step  that  he  is  provoking  comparisons  very  much 
to  his  own  disadvantage.  But  I  do  not  think  this  con- 
sideration ought  to  deter  him  from  using  the  vehicle 
which  everything  else  indicates  as  the  proper  one. 

As  regards  metre,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  quatrain 
of  ten-syllable  lines  which  has  been  tried  by  Hammer, 
Bicknell,  and  others,  and  has  been  raised  by  Mr.  Fitz- 
gerald almost  to  the  rank  of  a  recognised  English  metre, 
is  the  best  representative  of  the  RiibaH.  It  fairly  sat- 
isfies Conington's  canon,  viz.,  that  there  ought  to  be  some 
degree  of  metrical  conformity  between  the  measure  of 
the  original  and  the  translation,   for  though    it    does   not 

(131) 


132  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 

exactly  correspond  with  the  Ruba'i,  it  very  clearly  sug- 
gests it.  In  particular,  it  copies  what  is  perhaps  the  most 
marked  feature  of  the  Riibd'i^ — the  interlinking  of  the 
four  lines  by  the  repetition  in  the  fourth  line  of  the  rhyme 
of  the  first  and  second.  Mr.  Swinburne's  modification  of 
this  metre,  in  which  the  rhyme  is  carried  on  from  one 
quatrain  to  the  next,  is  not  applicable  to  poems  like 
Omar's,  all  of  which  are  isolated  in  sense  from  the  context. 
Alexandrines  would,  of  course,  correspond  more  nearly 
than  decasyllables  with  RiibaH  lines  in  number  of  sylla- 
bles, and  they  have  been  extensively  used  by  Bodenstedt 
and  other  German  translators  of  the  metre  but,  whatever 
may  be  the  case  in  German,  they  are  apt  to  read  very 
heavily  in  English,  even  when  constructed  by  skilful 
verse-makers,  and  an  inferior  workman  can  hardly  hope 
to  manage  them  with  anything  like  success.  The  shorter 
length  of  the  decasyllable  line  is  not  altogether  a  disad- 
vantage to  the  translator.  Owing  to  the  large  number 
of  monosyllables  in  English,  it  is  generally  adequate  to 
hold  the  contents  of  a  Persian  line  a  syllable  or  two 
longer;  and  a  line  erring,  if  at  all,  on  the  side  of  brevity, 
has  at  any  rate  the  advantage  of  obliging  the  translator 
to  eschew  modern  diffuseness,  and  of  making  him  try  to 
copy  the  ^*  classical  parsimony,  ^^  the  archaic  terseness  and 
condensation  of  the  original. 

The  poet  Cowper  has  a  remark  on  translation  from  Latin 
which  is  eminently  true  also  of  translation  from  Persian. 
He  says,  "  That  is  epigrammatic  and  witty  in  Latin  which 
would  be  perfectly  insipid  in  English.  ...  If  a 
Latin  poem  is  neat,  elegant,  and  musical,  it  is  enough, 
but  English  readers  are  not  so  easily  satisfied.  '*  Much 
of  Omar's  matter,  when  literally  translated,  seems  very 
trite  and  commonplace,  many  of  the  ^* conceits,**  of  which 
he  is  so  fond,  very  frigid,  and  even  his  peculiar  grotesque 
humour  often  loses  its  savour  in  an  English  replica.  The 
translator  is  often  tempted  to  elevate  a  too  grovelling 
sentiment,  to  "  sharpen  a  point  '*  here  and  there,  to  trick 
out  a  commonplace  with  some  borrowed  modern  embellish- 
ment. But  this  temptation  is  one  to  be  resisted  as  far 
as  possible.     According  to   the  Hadis,  "  The  business  of  a 


INTRODUCTION  133 

messenger  is  simply  to  deliver  his  message,*^  and  he  must 
not  shrink  from  displaying  the  naked  truth.  A  translator 
who  writes  in  verse  must  of  course  claim  the  liberty  of 
altering  the  form  of  the  expression  over  and  over  again, 
but  the  substituted  expressions  ought  to  be  in  keeping 
with  the  author's  style,  and  on  the  same  plane  of  sentiment 
as  his.  It  is  beyond  the  province  of  a  translator  to  at- 
tempt the  task  of  ^*  painting  the  lily.'*  But  it  is  easier 
to  lay  down  correct  principles  of  translation  than  to  ob- 
serve them  unswervingly  in  one's  practice. 

As  regards  subject  matter,  Omar's  quatrains  may  be 
classed  under  the  following  six  heads:  — 

I.  SJiikayat  i  rosgar  —  Complaints  of  "the  wheel  of 
heaven,*  or  fate,  of  the  world's  injustice,  of  the  loss  of 
friends,  of  man's  limited  faculties  and  destinies. 

II.  Hajw — Satires  on  the  hypocrisy  of  the  "unco' 
guid,'*  the  impiety  of  the  pious,  the  ignorance  of  the 
learned,  and  the  untowardness  of  his  own  generation. 

III.  Firakiya  and  Wisaliya  —  Love-poems  on  the  sor- 
rows of  separation  and  the  joys  of  reunion  with  the 
Beloved,   earthly  or  spiritual. 

IV.  Bahariya — Poems  in  praise  of  spring,  gardens,  and 
flowers. 

V.  Kufriya  —  Irreligious  and  antinomian  utterances, 
charging  the  sins  of  the  creature  to  the  account  of  the 
Creator,  scoffing  at  the  Prophet's  Paradise  and  Hell,  sing- 
ing the  praises  of  wine  and  pleasure  —  preaching  ad 
nauseam^  "  eat  and  drink  (especially  drink),  for  to-morrow 
ye  die.* 

VI.  Mujtajat  —  Addresses  to  the  Deity,  now  in  the 
ordinary  language  of  devotion,  bewailing  sins  and  im- 
ploring pardon,  now  in  Mystic  phraseology,  craving 
deliverance  from  "self,*  and  union  with  the  "Truth* 
{Al  Hakk),   or  Deity,  as  conceived  by  the   Mystics. 

The  "  complaints  *  may  obviously  be  connected  with 
the  known  facts  of  the  poet's  life,  by  supposing  them 
to  have  been  prompted  by  the  persecution  to  which  he 
was  subjected  on  account  of  his  opinions.  His  remarks 
on  the  Houris  and  other  sacred  subjects  raised  such  a 
feeling  against  him  that  at  one  time  his  life  was  in  dangfer, 


134  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 

and  the  wonder  is  that  he  escaped  at  all  in  a  city  like 
Naishapur,  where  the  odium  thcologiciivi  raged  so  fiercely 
as  to  occasion  a  sanguinary  civil  war.  In  the  year  489 
A.H.,  as  we  learn  from  Ibn  Al  Athir,*  the  orthodox 
banded  themselves  together  under  the  leadership  of  Abul 
Kasim  and  Muhammad,  the  chiefs  of  the  Hanefites  and 
the  Shafeites,  in  order  to  exterminate  the  Kerramians 
or  Anthropomorphist  heretics,  and  succeeded  in  putting 
many  of  them  to  death,  and  destroying  all  their  estab- 
lishments. It  may  be  also  that  after  the  death  of  his 
patron,  Nizam  ul  Mulk,  Omar  lost  his  stipend  and  was 
reduced  to  poverty. 

The  satires  probably  owed  their  origin  to  the  same 
cause.  Rien  soiilage  connne  la  rhetorigiie,  and  if  Omar 
could  not  relieve  his  feelings  by  open  abuse  of  his  perse- 
cutors, he  made  up  for  it  by  the  bitterness  of  his  verses. 
The  bitterness  of  his  strictures  on  them  was  no  doubt 
fully  equalled  by  the  rancour  of  their  attacks  upon  him. 

The  love-poems  are  samples  of  a  class  of  compositions 
much  commoner  in  later  poets  than  in  Omar.  Most  of 
them  probably  bear  a  mystical  meaning,  for  I  doubt  if 
Omar  was  a  person  very  susceptible  of  the  tender  passion. 
He  speaks  with  appreciation  of  "  tulip  cheeks  ^^  and  "  cy- 
press forms,  *'  but  apparently  recognises  no  attractions  of 
a  higher  order  in  his  fair  friends. 

The  poems  in  praise  of  scenery  again  offer  a  strong 
contrast  to  modern  treatment  of  the  same  theme.  The 
only  aspects  of  nature  noticed  by  Omar  are  such  as  affect 
the  senses  agreeably — the  bright  flowers,  the  song  of  the 
nightingale,  the  grassy  bank  of  the  stream,  and  the  shady 
garden  associated  in  his  mind  with  his  convivial  parties. 
The  geographer  translated  by  Sir  W.  Ouseley  says  of 
Naishapur,  "  The  city  is  watered  by  a  subterranean  canal, 
which  is  conveyed  to  the  fields  and  gardens,  and  there  is 
a  considerable  stream  that  waters  the  city  and  the  villages 
about  it  —  this  stream  is  named  Saka.  In  all  the  provinces 
of  Khorassan  there  is  not  any  city  larger  than  Naishapur, 
nor  any  blessed  with  a  more  pure  and  temperate  air. "    No 

♦See  Defr6mery,  ^^^ Rccherches  sur  le  r^gne  de  Barkidrok,'*'*  p.  51. 


INTRODUCTION  135 

doubt  it  was  some  of  these  gardens  that  called  forth 
Omar's  encomiums. 

But  it  is  in  the  Kufriya,  or  antinomian  quatrains,  and  in 
the  Munajat^  or  pious  aspirations,  that  the  most  remark- 
able and  characteristic  features  of  Omar's  poetry  are  ex- 
hibited. The  glaring  contrast  between  these  two  classes 
of  his  poetry  has  led  his  readers  to  take  very  opposite 
views  of  him,  according  as  they  looked  at  one  or  the  other 
side  of  the  shield.  European  critics,  like  his  contempora- 
ries, mostly  consider  him  an  infidel  and  a  voluptuary  "  of 
like  mind  with  Sardanapalus.  **  On  the  other  hand,  the 
Sufis  have  contrived  to  affix  mystical  and  devotional 
meanings  even  to  his  most  Epicurean  quatrains;  and  this 
method  of  interpretation  is  nowadays  as  universally  ac- 
cepted in  Persia  and  India  as  the  Mystical  interpretation 
of  the  Canticles  is  in  Europe.  But  neither  of  these  views 
can  be  accepted  in  its  entirety.  Even  if  the  Sufi  sym- 
bolism had  been  definitely  formulated  as  early  as  Omar's 
time,  which  is  very  doubtful,  common  sense  would  forbid 
us  to  force  a  devotional  meaning  on  the  palpably  Epi- 
curean quatrains;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  unless  we  are 
prepared  to  throw  over  the  authority  of  all  the  manu- 
scripts, including  the  most  ancient  ones,  we  must  reckon 
with  the  obviously  Mystical  and  devotional  quatrains. 
The  essential  contradiction  in  the  tone  and  temper  of 
these  two  sections  of  Omar's  poetry  cannot  be  glossed 
over,  but  calls  imperatively  for  explanation. 

His  poems  were  obviously  not  all  written  at  one  period 
of  his  life,  but  from  time  to  time,  just  as  circumstances 
and  mood  suggested,  and  under  the  influence  of  the 
thoughts,  passions,  and  desires  which  happened  to  be  up- 
permost at  the  moment.  It  may  be  that  the  irreligious 
and  Epicurean  quatrains  were  written  in  youth,  and  the 
Miinajat  in  his  riper  years.  But  this  hypothesis  seems 
to  be  disproved  by  Sharastani's  account  of  him,  which  is 
quite  silent  as  to  any  such  conversion  or  change  of  senti- 
ment on  his  part,  and  also  by  the  fact  that  he  describes 
himself  from  first  to  last  as  a  ^*  Dipsychus "  in  grain,  a 
halter  between  two  opinions,  and  an  *-'•  Aerates ^'*^  or  back- 
slider,  in  his  practice. 


136  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 

If  his  poems  be  considered  not  in  the  abstract,  but  in 
the  light  of  history,  taking  into  account  his  mental  pedigree 
and  his  intellectual  surroundings,  a  more  plausible  ex- 
planation of  his  inconsistencies  readily  presents  itself.  In 
his  youth,  as  we  know,  he  sat  at  the  feet  of  the  Suni 
theologian  Imam  Muaffik,  and  he  was  then  no  doubt  thor- 
oughly indoctrinated  with  the  great  Semitic  conception  of 
the  One  God,  or,  to  use  the  expressive  term  of  Muham- 
madan  theology,  ^^  the  Only  Real  Agent  ^*  {Fa'  il  i  Hakiki). 
To  minds  dominated  by  the  overwhelming  sense  of  Al- 
mighty Power,  everywhere  present  and  working,  there 
seems  no  room  for  Nature,  or  human  will,  or  chance, 
or  any  other  Ahriman  whatsoever,  to  take  the  responsi- 
bility of  all  the  evils  in  the  world,  the  storms  and  the 
earthquakes,  the  Borgias  and  the  Catilines.  The  <*  Only 
Real  Agent  ^^  has  to  answer  for  all.  In  the  most  ancient 
document  of  Semitic  religious  speculation  now  extant,  the 
Book  of  Job,  we  find  expostulations  of  the  boldest  char- 
acter addressed  to  the  Deity  for  permitting  a  righteous 
man  to  be  stricken  with  unmerited  misfortunes,  though 
the  writer  ultimately  concludes  in  a  spirit  of  pious  agnos- 
ticism and  resignation  to  the  inscrutable  dispensations  of 
Providence.  In  the  Book  of  Ecclesiastes  again,  the  same 
problems  are  handled,  but  in  a  somewhat  different  temper. 
The  "  weary  king  Ecclesiast  '^  remarks  that  there  is  one 
event  to  all,  to  him  that  sacrificeth  and  him  that  sacrificeth 
not  —  that  injustice  and  wrong  seem  eternally  triumphant, 
that  God  has  made  things  crooked,  and  none  can  make 
them  straight;  and  concludes  now  in  favour  of  a  sober 
*  carpe  diem  ^*  philosophy,  now  in  favour  of  a  devout  "  fear 
of  Ihe  Lord.  ^*  Of  course  the  manner  in  which  the  serious 
Hebrew  handles  these  matters  is  very  different  from 
the  levity  and  flippancy  of  the  volatile  Persian,  but  it  can 
hardly  be  denied  that  the  Ecclesiast  and  Omar  resemble 
one  another  in  the  double  and  contradictory  nature  of  their 
practical  conclusions. 

No  sooner  was  Islam  established  than  the  same  problem 
of  the  existence  of  evil  in  the  handiwork  of  the  Almighty 
Author  and  Governor  of  all  began  to  trouble  the  Moslem 
theologians,   and  by  their  elaboration  of  the  dpctrine  of 


INTRODUCTION  137 

Predestination  they  managed  to  aggravate  its  difficul- 
ties. 

One  of  the  chief  "  roots  '*  of  their  discussions  was  how  to 
reconcile  the  Divine  justice  and  benevolence  with  the 
Divine  prescience,  —  the  predestination  of  some  vessels  to 
honour,  and  others  to  dishonour, —  the  pre-ordainment 
of  all  things  by  a  kind  of  mechanical  necessity  {/abr), 
leaving  no  possibility  of  the  occurrence  of  any  events 
except  those  which  actually  do  occur.  The  consideration 
of  one  corollary  of  a  similar  doctrine  moved  the  pious 
and  gentle  Cowper  to  use  language  of  indignant  dis- 
sent ;  and  there  is  high  theological  authority  for  the  view 
that  it  is  calculated  ^Ho  thrust  some  into  desperation, '*  but 
to  stimulate  the  piety  of  others.  Omar  is  constantly  dwell- 
ing on  this  doctrine,  and  he  seems  to  be  affected  by  it  in 
the  double  way  here  mentioned. 

Other  influences  which  acted  on  Omar  must  not  be  left 
out  of  account.  Born  as  he  was  in  Khorassan,  ^^  the  focus 
of  Persian  culture,**  he  was  no  doubt  familiar  with  specu- 
lations of  the  Moslem  philosophers,  Alkindi,  Alfarabi,  and 
Avicenna,*  the  last  of  whom  he  may  possibly  have  seen. 
And  though,  think  he  was  not  himself  a  Sufi,  in  the 
sense  of  being  affiliated  to  any  Sufi  order,  he  can  hardly 
have  been  unaffected  by  the  mysticism  of  which  his  prede- 
cessor in  Ruba'i  writing,  Abu  Sa'id  bin  Abul  Khair,  his 
patron  Nizam  ul  Mulk,  and  his  distinguished  countryman 
Imam  Ghazali  were  all  strong  adherents.  His  philosoph- 
ical studies  would  naturally  stimulate  his  sceptical  and 
irreligious  dispositions,  while  his  Mystic  leanings  would 
operate  mainly  in  the  contrary  direction. 

If  this  explanation  of  the  inconsistencies  in  his  poetry 
be  correct,  it  is  obvious  that  the  parallel  often  sought  to 
be  traced  betv/een  him  and  Lucretius  has  no  existence. 
Whatever  he  was,  he  was  not  an  Atheist.  To  him,  as  to 
other  Muhammadans  of  his  time,  to  deny  the  existence 
of  the  Deity  would  seem  to  be  tantamount  to  denying  the 
existence  of  the  world  and  of  himself.  And  the  concep- 
tion of  ^^  laws  of  nature  **  was  also  one  quite  foreign  to  his 

*Avicerina  died  in  428  A.  H. 


138  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR    KHAYYAM 

habits  of  thought.  As  Deutsch  says,  "  To  a  Shemite,  Na- 
ture is  simply  what  has  been  begotten,  and  is  ruled  abso- 
lutely by  One  Absolute  Power.  '^ 

Hammer  compares  him  to  Voltaire,  but  in  reality  he  is 
a  Voltaire  and  something  more.  He  has  much  of  Vol- 
taire's flippancy  and  irreverence.  His  treatment  of  the 
doctrine  of  the  Resurrection  of  the  Body,  for  instance, 
which  Muhammad  took  from  Christianity,  and  travestied 
by  the  embellishments  he  added  to  it,  is  altogether  in 
Voltaire's  manner.  And  his  insistence  on  the  all  impor- 
tance of  kindness  and  charity  recalls  the  better  side  of 
Voltaire's  character,  viz.,  his  kindness  to  Calas,  and  the 
other  victims  of  ecclesiastical  persecution.  But  Omar  also 
possessed,  what  Voltaire  did  not,  strong  religious  emotions, 
which  at  times  overrode  his  rationalism,  and  found  ex- 
pression in  those  devotional  and  Mystical  quatrains,  which 
offer  such  a  strong  contrast  to  the  rest  of  his  poetry. 

E.  H.  WHINFIELD 


NOTE 

The  text  has  been  framed  from  a  comparison  of  the 
following  authorities :  — 

I.  The  Bodleian  manuscript,  No.  140  of  the  Ouseley  Collection, 
containing  158  quatrains. 

II.  The  Calcutta  Asiatic  Society's  manuscript.  No.  1548,  containing 
516  quatrains. 

III.  The  India  Office  manuscript,  No.  2420,  flf.  212  to  267,  contain- 
ing 512  quatrains. 

IV.  The  Calcutta  edition  of  1252  A.  H.,  containing  438  quatrains, 
with  an  appendix  of  54  more,  which  the  editor  says  he  found  in  a 
Bayaz,  or  common-place  book,  after  the  others  had  been  printed. 

V.  The  Paris  edition  of  M.  Nicolas,  containing  464  quatrains. 

VI.  The  Lucknow  lithographed   edition,  containing  763  quatrains. 

VII.  A  fragment  of  an  edition  begun  by  the  late  Mr.  Blochmann, 
containing  only  62  quatrains. 

(139) 


QUATRAINS    OF   OMAR  KHAYYAM 


I. 


At  dawn  a  cry  through  all  the  tavern  shrilled, 
"  Arise  my  brethren  of  the  revellers'  guild, 

That  I  may  fill  our  measure,  full  of  wine 
Or  e'er  the  measure  of  our  days  be  filled.^* 

I.     Bl.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     Bl.  considers  this  quatrain  Mystical. 


Who  was  it  brought  thee  here  at  nightfall,   who  ? 
Forth  from  the  harem  in  this  manner,  who? 
To  him  who  in  thy  absence  burns  as  fire. 
And  trembles  like  hot  air,  who  was  it,  who  ? 

Bl.  C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.  Bl.  says  the  omission  of  the  copulative 
wa  in  line  4  of  the  original  is  characteristic  of  Khayyam. 
In  line  4  I  follow  Blochmann's  rendering.  It  may  mean, 
«when  the  wind  blows.  >> 


'Tis  but  a  day  we  sojourn  here  below, 
And  all  the  gain  we  get  is  grief  and  woe, 

And  then,  leaving  life's  riddles  all  unsolved, 
And  burdened  with  regrets,  we  have  to  go. 

3.     N. 

(141) 


142  QUATRAINS   Of   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


Khaja!  grant  one  request,  and  only  one, 

Wish  me  God-speed,  and  get  your  preaching  done; 

I  walk  aright,   'tis  you  who  see  awry; 
Go!  heal  your  purblind  eyes,  leave  me  alone. 

4.    Bl.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


Arise!  and  come,  and  of  thy  courtesy 
Resolve  my  weary  heart's  perplexity. 

And  fill  my  goblet,   so  that  I  may  drink. 
Or  e'er  they  make  their  goblets  out  of  me. 

Bl.  C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.  The  heart  is  supposed  to  be  the  seat  of 
reason.  ^<Or  ever>>  and  «or  e'er»  are  both  found  in  Eliza- 
bethan English.     Abbot,  Shakespearian  Grammar,  p.  89 


When  I  am  dead,  with  wine  my  body  lave. 
For  obit  chant  a  bacchanalian  stave. 

And,  if  you  need  me  at  the  day  of  doom, 
Beneath  the  tavern  threshold  seek  my  grave. 

Bl.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


Since  no  one  can  assure  thee  of  the  morrow, 
Rejoice  thy  heart  to-day,  and  banish  sorrow 

With  moonbright  wine,  fair  moon,  for  heaven's  moon 
Will  look  for  us  in  vain  on  many  a  morrow. 

7.     Bl.     C.  L.  N.  A.   B.   I.  J.     Line  2  is  in  metre  14. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  143 


8. 


Let  lovers  all  distraught  and  frenzied  be, 
And  flown  with  wine,  and  reprobates,  like  me; 
When  sober,  I  find   everything  amiss, 
But  in  my  cups  cry,   <*  Let  what  will  be,  be.  * 

Bl.     L.  N.     Line  3  is  in  metre  13. 


In  Allah's  name,  say,  wherefore  set  the  wise 
Their  hearts  upon  this  house  of  vanities  ? 

Whene'er  they  think  to  rest  them  from    their  toils. 
Death  takes  them  by  the  hand,  and  says,  "Arise.** 

9.     Bl.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I. 


Men  say  the  Koran  holds  all  heavenly  lore. 
But  on  its  pages  seldom  care  to  pore; 

The  lucid  lines  engraven  on  the  bowl, — 
That  is  the  text  they  dwell  on  evermore. 

.     Bl.     L.  N.  A.  B.    I.    J.     Lines   were  engraven    on   the    bowl   to 
measure  out  the  draughts.     Bl. 


II. 

Blame  not  the  drunkards,  you  who  wine  eschew. 
Had  I  but  grace,   I  would  abstain  like  you. 

And  mark  me,  vaunting  zealot,  you  commit 
A  hundredfold  worse  sins  than  drunkards  do. 

II.     Bl.     C.   L.  N.  A.  I. 


144  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


12. 

What  though  'tis  fair  to  view,  this  form  of  man, 
I  know  not  why  the  heavenly  Artisan 

Hath  set  these  tulip  cheeks  and  cypress  forms 
To  deck  the  mournful  halls  of  earth's  divan. 

Bl.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I. 


13- 

My  fire  gives  forth  no  smoke-cloud  here  below, 
My  stock-in-trade  no  profit  here  below, 

And  you,   who  call  me  tavern-haunter,  know 
There  is  indeed  no  tavern  here  below. 

13.  Bl.  C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.  The  anacoluthon  in  line  3.  and  the  miss- 
ing rhyme  before  the  burden,  in  line  4,  are  characteristic 
of  Khayyam.     Bl. 


14. 

Thus  spake  an  idol  to  his  worshipper, 

*^  Why  dost  thou  worship  this  dead  stone,   fair  sir  ? 

'Tis  because  He  who  gazeth  through  thine  eyes, 
Doth  some  part  of  His  charms  on  it  confer.** 

14.     L.     Meaning,  all  is  of  God,  even  idols. 


15- 

Whate'er  thou  doest,  never  grieve  thy  brother, 
Nor  kindle  fumes  of  wrath  his  peace  to  smother; 

Dost  thou  desire  to  taste  eternal  bliss. 
Vex  thine  own  heart,  but  never  vex  another! 

15.     L.     b.     Line  i  is  in  metre  14. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  14: 


16. 


O  Thou!  to  please  whose  love  and  wrath  as  well, 
Allah  created  heaven  and  likewise  hell; 

Thou  hast  thy  court  in  heaven,  and  I  have  naught, 
Why  not  admit  me  in  thy  courts  to  dwell  ? 

16.  Bl.  L.  The  person  addressed  is  the  prophet  Muhammad.  The 
Sufis  were  fond  of  dwelling  on  the  opposition  between  the 
beautiful  and  the  terrible  attributes  of  Deity. 


17. 

So  many  cups  of  wine  will  I  consume, 
Its  bouquet  shall  exhale  from  out  my  tomb, 
And  every  one  that  passes  by  shall  halt. 
And  reel  and  stagger  with  that  mighty  fume. 

17.     Bl.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


18. 

Young  wooer,  charm  all  hearts  with  lover's  art. 
Glad  winner,  lead  thy  paragon  apart! 

A  hundred  Ka'bas  equal  not  one  heart. 
Seek  not  the  Ka'ba,  rather  seek  a  heart! 

Bl.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     Line  2,  <<  In  the  presence  seize  the  perfect 
heart. » 


19. 

What  time,  my  cup  in  hand,  its  draughts  I  drain. 
And  with  rapt  heart  unconsciousness  attain, 

Behold  what  wondrous  miracles  are  wrought, 
Songs  flow  as  water  from  my  burning  brain. 

19.    L.  N. 


146  QUATRAINS   OF    OMAR   KHAYYAM 


To-day  is  but  a  breathing  space,  quaff  wine! 
Thou  wilt  not  see  again  this  life  of  thine; 

So,  as  the  world  becomes  the  spoil  of  time, 
Offer  thyself  to  be  the  spoil  of  wine! 

L.  N. 


'Tis  we  who  to  wine's  yoke  our  necks  incline, 
And  risk  our  lives  to  gain  the  smiles  of   wine; 

The  henchman  grasps  the  flagon  by  its  throat 
And  squeezes  out  the  lifeblood  of  the  vine. 

21.     L.  N.     Line  3  is  in  metre  ig. 


Here  in  this  tavern  haunt  I  make  my  lair, 
Pawning  for  wine,  heart,  soul,  and  all  I  wear, 

Without  a  hope  of  bliss,  or  fear  of  bale, 
Rapt  above  water,  earth,  and  fire,  and  air. 

Bl.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J. 


23. 

Quoth  fish  to  duck,  <* 'Twill  be  a  sad  affair. 

If  this  brook  leaves  its  channel  dry  and  bare"; 

To  whom  the  duck,  "  When  I  am  dead  and  roasted 
The  brook  may  run  with  wine  for  aught  I  care.^* 

23.     L.     Meaning,  ^^^  Aprts  noJis  le  ddluge?^ 


E.   H.   WHINFIELD  147 


24. 


From  doubt  to  clear  assurance  is  a  breath, 
A  breath  from  infidelity  to  faith; 

O  precious  breath!  enjoy  it  while  you  may, 
'Tis  all  that  life  can  give,  and  then  comes  death. 

24.    Bl.    C.  L.  N.  A  I.  J. 


25- 

Ah!  wheel  of  heaven  to  tyranny  inclined, 
'Twas  e'er  your  wont  to  show  yourself  unkind; 

And,  cruel  earth,  if  they  should  cleave  your  breast, 
What  store  of  buried  jewels  they  would  find! 

25.     Bl.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     «  Wheel  of  heaven,»  z.  e.,  destiny,  fortune. 
Sir  Thomas  Browne  talks  of  the  «  wheel  of  things. » 


26. 

My  life  lasts  but  a  day  or  two,  and  fast         s/. 
Sweeps  by,  like  torrent  stream  or  desert  blast, 

Howbeit,  of  two  days  I  take  no  heed, — 
The  day  to  come,  and  that  already  past. 

26.    Bl.    C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J. 


27. 

That  pearl  is  from  a  mine  unknown  to  thee, 
That  ruby  bears  a  stamp  thou  canst  not  see. 

The  tale  of  love  some  other  tongue  must  tell. 
All  our  conjectures  are  mere  phantasy. 

27.     Meaning,    real    love    of    God    differs    from    the    popular   idea    of 
it.     Bl. 


148  QUATRAINS   OF^   OMAR   RHAYYAM 


28. 


Now  with  its  joyful  prime  my  age  is  rife, 
I  quaff  enchanting  wine,  and  list  to  fife; 

Chide  not  at  wine  for  all  its  bitter  taste, 
Its  bitterness  sorts  well  with  human  life! 

28.     Bl.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J. 


29. 

O  soul!  whose  lot  it  is  to  bleed  with  pain, 
And  daily  change  of  fortune  to  sustain, 

Into  this  body  wherefore  didst  thou  come, 
Seeing  thou  must  at  last  go  forth  again  ? 

29.     Bl.     C.  L,  N.  A.  I.  J. 


30- 

To-day  is  thine  to  spend,  but  not  to-morrow, 
Counting  on  morrows  breedeth  naught  but  sorrow; 
Oh!    squander   not   this   breath   that   heaven    hath 
lent  thee. 
Nor  make  too  sure  another  breath  to  borrow! 

30.     Bl.     C.  N.  A.  B.  I. 


31. 

'Tis  labour  lost  thus  to  all  doors  to  crawl, 
Take  thy  good  fortune,  and  thy  bad  withal; 

Know  for  a  surety  each  must  play  his  game. 
As  from  heaven's  dice-box  fate's  dice  chance  to    fall. 

31      Bl.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     Naksh,  the  dots  on  dice. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  I49 


32' 


This  jug  did  once,  like  me,  love's  sorrows  taste. 
And  bonds  of  beauty's  tresses  once  embraced, 

This  handle,  which  you  see  upon  its  side, 
Has  many  a  time  twined  round  a  slender  waist! 

32.    Bl.    C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J. 


33- 


Days  changed  to  nights,  ere  you  were  born,  or  I, 
And  on  its  business  ever  rolled  the  sky; 

See  you  tread  gently  on  this  dust  —  perchance 
'Twas  once  the  apple  of  some  beauty's  eye. 

33.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


34. 


Pagodas,  just  as  mosques,  are  homes  of  prayer, 
'Tis  prayer  that  church-bells  chime  unto  the  air. 

Yea,  Church  and  Ka'ba,  Rosary  and  Cross 
Are  all  but  divers  tongues  of  world-wide  prayer. 

34.     Bl.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     Meaning,  forms  of  faith  are  indifferent. 


35- 

'Twas  writ  at  first,  whatever  was  to  be, 
By  pen,  unheeding  bliss  or  misery. 

Yea,  writ  upon    the  tablet  once  for  all. 
To  murmur  or  resist  is  vanity. 

35.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J.     Meaning,  fate  is  heartless  and  resistless. 


ISO  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


36. 

There  is  a  mystery  I  know  full  well, 
Which  to  all,   good  and    bad,    I  cannot  tell; 
My  words  are  dark,  but  I  cannot  unfold 
The  secrets  of  the  "  station  '^  where  I  dwell. 

36.     Bl.     C.   L.  N.  A.   I.  J.     Hale,  a  state  of  ecstasy. 


37- 

No  base  or  light-weight  coins   pass  current  here. 
Of  such  a  broom  has  swept  our  dwelling  clear; 

Forth  from  the  tavern  comes  a  sage  and  cries, 
^^  Drink !  for  ye  all  must  sleep  through  ages  drear.  '* 

37.     BI.     L.  N.     Meaning,  Mullahs'  fables  will   not  go  down  with  us. 


38. 

With  outward  seeming  we  can  cheat  mankind, 
But  to  God's  will  we  can  but  be  resigned; 

The  deepest  wiles  my  cunning  e'er  devised, 
To  balk  resistless  fate  no  way  could  find. 

38.     L.    N.      Meaning,    weakness   of    human    rule    compared    to    the 
strength  of  Divine  decrees. 


Z9' 

Is  a  friend  faithless  ?  spurn  him  as  a  foe ; 
Upon  trustworthy  foes  respect  bestow; 

Hold  healing  poison  for  an  antidote, 
And  baneful  sweets  for  deadly  eisel  know. 

39.     L.  N.     These  gnomical  epigrams  are  not  common  in  Khayyam. 


E.   H.  WHINFIELD  151 

40. 

No  heart   is  there   but  bleeds  when   torn  from  Thee, 
No  sight  so  clear  but  craves  Thy  face  to  see; 

And  though  perchance  Thou  carest  not  for  them, 
No  soul  is  there  but  pines  with  care  for  Thee. 

40.     C.   L.  N.  A.    I.    J.     Jigar,   the  liver,  was  considered   to  be   the 
seat  of  love. 


41. 

Sobriety  doth  dry  up  all  delight, 

And  drunkenness  doth  drown  my  sense  outright; 

There  is  a  middle  state,  it  is  my  life. 
Not  altogether  drunk,   nor  sober  quite. 

41.     C.  N.  I.     Masii o:    scan  mastiyo.     The  Epicurean  golden    mean. 
See  Ecclesiastes,  vii,   16,  17. 


42. 

Behold  these    cups!     Can  He   who  deigned   to    make 

them. 
In  wanton  freak  let  ruin  overtake  them. 

So  many  shapely  feet  and  hands    and  heads, — 
What  love  drives  Him  to  make,    what  wrath  to   break 

them? 

42.     C.  N.  A.   B.   I.  J.     Pryalae.  a  cup.     So  Job,  «Thy  hands  have 
made  me,  yet  thou  dost  destroy  me.» 


43- 

Death's  terrors  spring  from  baseless  phantasy, 
Death  yields  the  tree  of  immortality; 

Since  'Isa  breathed  new  life  into  my  soul, 
Eternal  death  has  washed  its  hands  of  me! 

43.     L.  N.     Meaning,  the  Sufi  doctrine  of  Baku  ba'd  ul    fana.     Scq 
Gzilshan  i  Raz,  p.  31. 


152       QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 


44. 

Like  tulips  in  the  Spring  your  cups  lift  up, 
And,  with  a  tulip-cheeked   companion,  sup 

With  joy  your  wine,  or  e'er  this  azure  wheel 
With  some  unlooked-for  blast  upset  your  cup. 

44.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


45- 

Facts  will  not  change  to  humour  man's  caprice. 
So  vaunt  not  human  powers,  but  hold  your  peace; 
Here  must  we    stay,  weighed   down  with  grief  for 
this, 
That  we  were  born  so  late,  so  soon  decease. 

45.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     Meaning,  the  futility  of  striving  against  pre- 
destination.    An^,  for  an^:'.     Bl.,  Prosody  13. 


46. 

Khayyam !  why  weep  you  that  your  life  is  bad  ? 
What  boots  it  thus  to  mourn  ?     Rather  be  glad. 

He  that  sins  not  can  make  no  claim  to  mercy, 
Mercy  was  made  for  sinners  —  be  not  sad, 

46.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.     See  note  on  No.  130 


47- 

All  mortal  ken  is  bounded  by  the  veil. 
To  see  beyond  man's  sight  is  all  too  frail; 

Yea!  earth's  dark  bosom  is  his  only  home; 
Alas!  'twere  long  to  tell  the  doleful  tale. 

47.    C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  153 


48. 


This  faithless  world,  my  home,   I  have  surveyed. 
Yea,   and  with  all  my  wit  deep  question  made, 

But  found  no  moon  with  face  so  bright  as  thine, 
No  cypress  in  such  stateliness  arrayed. 


48.    L.  N 


49. 

In  synagogue  and  cloister,   mosque  and  school. 
Hell's  terrors  and  heaven's  lures  men's  bosoms  rule, 

But  they  who  master  Allah's  mysteries, 
Sow  not  this  empty  chaff  their  hearts  to  fool. 

49.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J.      Meaning,  souls  re-absorbed  in  the  Divine 
essence  have  no  concern  with  the  material  heaven  and  hell. 


5°- 

^ou  see  the  world,   but  all  you  see  is  naught. 
And  all  you  say,   and  all  you  hear  is  naught, 

Naught  the  four  quarters  of  the  mighty  earth. 
The  secrets  treasured  in  your  chamber  naught. 

50.     L.  N.     Meaning,  all  is  illusion  {Maya). 


51- 

I  dreamt  a  sage  said,   "  Wherefore  life  consume 
In  sleep  ?     Can  sleep  make  pleasure's  roses  bloom  ? 
For  gather  not  with  death's  twin-brother  sleep, 
Thou  wilt  have  sleep  enough  within  thy  tomb ! " 

51.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.   I.  J.     So  Homer,  Kasignetos  thanatoz'o. 


154  QUATRAINS   OF   0^1  AR   KHAYYAM 


52- 

If  the  heart  knew  life's  secrets  here  below, 

At  death  'twould  know  God's  secrets  too,   I  trow; 

But,  if  you  know  naught  here,  while  still  yourself, 
To-morrow,  stripped  of  self,   what  can  you  know  ? 

52.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.     In  line  2  scan  Ilahi.     Bl.,  Prosody,  p.  7. 


53- 

On  that  dread  day,   when  wrath  shall  rend  the  sky, 
And  darkness  dim  the  bright  stars'  galaxy, 

I'll  seize  the  Loved  One  by  His  skirt,   and  cry, 
**  Why  hast  Thou  doomed  these  guiltless  ones  to  die  ?  '^ 

53.  C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.  See  Koran,  Ixxxii.  1.  Note  the  alif  z  was/s 
in  lines  i  and  2.  In  line  4  scan  /cafa  lat,  transposing  the 
last  vowel.     Bl. ,  Prosody,  p.  ii. 


54- 

To  knaves  Thy  secret  we  must  not  confide. 
To  comprehend  it  is  to  fools  denied. 

See  then  to  what  hard  case  Thou  doomest  men. 
Our  hopes  from  one  and  all  perforce  we  hide. 

54.     C.    L.    N.    A.    B.    I.      There    is    a   variation   of    this,    beginning 
Asrar  t  jahan. 


55- 

Cupbearer!  what  though  fate's  blows  here  betide  us, 
And  a  safe  resting-place  be  here  denied  us. 

So  long  as  the  bright  wine-cup  stands  between  us. 
We  have  the  very  Truth  at  hand  to  guide  us. 

55.     C.  L.  N.  A.   I.     In  line  3  scan  mayast.     Bl.,  Prosody,  p.  13,  and 
note  tashdid  on  hakk  dropped.     Ibid,  p.  iv. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  155 


56. 


Long  time  in  wine  and  rose  I   took  delight, 
But  then  my  business  never  went  aright; 

Since  wine  could  not  accomplish  my  desire, 
I  have  abandoned  and  forsworn  it  quite, 

56.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


57- 

Bring  wine!  my  heart  with  dancing  spirits  teems, 
Wake!  fortune's  waking  is  as  fleeting  dreams; 
Quicksilver-like  our  days  are  swift  of  foot, 
And  youthful  fire  subsides  as  torrent  streams. 

57.     C.  L.   N.  A.   I.  J.     In  line  3  scan  bedariyi. 


58. 

Love's  devotees,  not  Moslems  here  you  see, 
Not  Solomons,  but  ants  of  low  degree; 

Here  are  but  faces  wan  and  tattered  rags, 
No  store  of  Cairene  cloth  or  silk  have  we. 

58.     L.  N.      For    the    story    of    Solomon    and    the    ants,  see    Koran, 
xxvii.,  18.     Kasab,  linen  made  in  Egypt. 


59- 

My  law  it  is  in  pleasure's  paths  to  stray, 
My  creed  to  shun  the  theologic  fray; 

I  wedded  Luck,   and  offered  her  a  dower, 
She  said,   "  I  want  none,   so  thy  heart  be  gay." 

59.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


t56  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


60. 

From  mosque  an  outcast,  and  to  church  a  foe, 
Allah!  of  what  clay  didst  thou  form  me  so? 

Like  sceptic  monk,  or  ugly  courtesan, 
No  hopes  have  I  above,  no  joys  below. 

60.  C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.  Uutmed  has  the  tashdtd  ob  metrum.  Bl., 
Prosody  9.  Line  2  is  in  metre  17.  Gil  i  mara  for  gil  t 
man  ra,  Vullers,  pp.  173  and  193. 


61. 

Men's  lusts,  like  house-dogs,  still  the  house  distress 
With  clamour,  barking  for  mere  wantonness; 

Foxes  are  they,  and  sleep  the  sleep  of  hares; 
Crafty  as  wolves,  as  tigers  pitiless. 

61.     C.  L.  N.  A.   I.  J.     « Sleep  of  hares,»  deceit. 


62. 

Yon  turf,  fringing  the  margent  of  the   stream, 
As  down  upon  a  cherub's  lip  might  seem, 

Or  growth  from  dust  of  buried   tulip  cheeks; 
Tread  not  that  turf  with  scorn,  or   light  esteem! 

62.     C.  L.  N.  A.   I.  J.    Juyiy :  the  ya   of  juy    is  hamzated   because 
followed  by  another  ya.     Vullers,  p.  24. 


Hearts  with  the  light  of  love  illumined  well, 
Whether  in  mosque  or  synagogue  they  dwell, 

Have  their  names  written  in  the  book  of  love, 
Unvexed  by  hopes  of  heaven  or  fears  of  hell. 

63.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I    J.     Compare   Hafiz,  Ode  79:    « Wherever  love  is, 
there  is  the  light  of  the  Beloved's  face.» 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD 


64. 


157 


One  draught  of  wine  outweighs  the  realm  of  Tus, 
Throne  of  Kobad  and  crown  of  Kai  Kawus; 

Sweeter  are  sighs  that  lovers  heave  at  morn, 
Than  all  the  groanings  zealot  breasts  produce. 

64.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     Kawus  is  the  old  spelling. 


65. 

Though  Moslems  for  my  sins  condemn  and  chide  me, 
Like  heathens  to  my  idol  I  confide  me; 

Yea,  when  I  perish  of  a  drunken  bout, 
I'll  call  on  wine,  whatever  doom  betide  me. 

65.    L.  N. 


In  drinking  thus  it  is  not  my  design 
To  riot,  or  transgress  the  law  divine, 

No!  to  attain  unconsciousness  of  self 
Is  the  sole  cause  I  drink  me  drunk  with  wine. 

66.     C.  L.  N.  A.   I.  J.     Perhaps  a  hit  at  the  orthodox  Sufis. 


67. 

Drunkards  are  doomed  to  hell,  so  men  declare, 
Believe  it  not,   'tis  but  a  foolish  scare; 

Heaven  will  be  empty  as  this  hand  of  mine. 
If  none  who  love  good  drink  find  entrance  there. 

67.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     Line  4  is  in  metre  17. 


158  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


68. 

'Tis  wrong,  according  to  the  strict  Koran, 
To  drink  in  Rajab,  likewise  in  Sha'ban, 

God  and  the  Prophet  claim  those  months  as  theirs; 
Was  Ramazan  then  made  for  thirsty  man  ? 

68.     C.  L.   N.  A.  I.  J.     The  point,  of  course,  is  that  Ramazan  is  the 
Muhammadan  Lent. 


69. 

Now  Ramazan  is  come,  no  wine   must  flow, 
Our  simple  pastimes  we  must  now  forego, 

The  wine  we  have  in  store  we  must  not  drink, 
Nor  on  our  mistresses  one  kiss  bestow. 

69.     L.  N.     Does  Sada  mean  the  winter  feast  ? 


70. 

What  is  the  world?     A  caravanserai, 
A  pied  pavilion  of  night  and  day; 

A  feast  whereat  a  thousand  Jamshids  sat, 
A  couch  whereon  a  thousand  Bahrams  lay. 

70.     Bl.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.      Wamanda,  « leavings. » 


71- 

Now  that  your  roses  bloom  with  flowers  of  bliss, 
To  grasp  your  goblets  be  not  so  remiss ; 

Drink  while  you  may!    Time  is  a  treacherous  foe, 
You  may  not  see  another  day  like  this. 

71.     Bl.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     Bar  bar  "blooming,  on  the  branch, >>  /.  e., 
you  are  still  young,     Bl. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  159 


72. 


Here  in  this  palace,  where  Bahram  held  sway, 
The  wild  roes  drop  their  young,  and  tigers  stray; 
And  that  great  hunter  king — ah!  well-a-day! 
Now  to  the  hunter  death  is  fallen  a  prey. 

72.     Bl.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     Daro:  see  Bl.,  Pros.  11. 


73- 

Down  fall  the  tears  from  skies  enwrapt  in  gloom, 
Without  this  drink,  the  flowers  could  never  bloom ' 

As  now  these  flowerets  yield  delight  to  me, 
So  shall  my  dust  yield  flowers, —  God  knows  for  whom. 

73.     Bl.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.      In    line  4  ta  is  the  «/a  i  tajahtd,^^  mean- 
ing, «I  do  not  know  whether, »  «  perhaps. »     Bl. 


74. 

To-day  is  Friday,  as  the  Moslem  says. 
Drink  then  from  bowls  served  up  in  quick  relays; 
Suppose  on  common  days  you  drink  one  bowl. 
To-day  drink  two,  for  'tis  the  prince  of  days. 

^74.     Bl.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     Friday  is  the  day  «of  assembly,»  or  Sab- 
bath. 


75. 

The  very  wine  a  myriad  forms  sustains. 

And  to  take  shapes  of  plants  and  creatures  deigns 

But  deem  not  that  its  essence  ever  dies, 
Its  forms  may  perish,  but  its  self  remains. 

75.  Bl.  C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.  On  this  Bl.  notes  «The  Arabic  form 
hay  aw  an  is  required  by  the  metre.  >>  And  Suivar  is  the 
Arabic  plural,  used  as  a  singular.  Bl.,  Prosody  5.  Wine 
means  the  divine   «  Noumenon.^^     Giilshan  i  Raz,  825. 


i6o  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


76. 

'Tis  naught  but  smoke  this  people's  fire  doth  bear, 
For  my  well-being  not  a  soul  doth  care; 

With  hands  fate  makes  me  lift  up  in  despair, 
I  grasp  men's  skirts,  but  find  no  succour  there. 

76.     Bl.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     Scan  tayifa. 


77- 

This  bosom  friend,  on  whom  you  so  rely. 
Seems  to  clear  wisdom's  eyes  an  enemy; 

Choose  not  your  friends  from  this  rude  multitude, 
Their  converse  is  a  plague  'tis  best  to  fly. 

77.     Bl.     C.  L.  N.  A.   I.  J.     The  MSS.  transpose  the  lines. 


78. 

O  foolish  one!  this  moulded  earth  is  naught, 
This  particoloured  vault  of  heaven  is  naught; 
Our  sojourn  in  this  seat  of  life  and  death 
Is  but  one  breath,   and  what  is  that  but  naught  ? 

78.     Bl.     L.  N.     Shakl  i  7nu)assam,  «the  earth.*    Bl. 


79. 

Some  wine,  a  Houri    (Houris  if   there  be), 

A  green  bank  by  a  stream,  with  minstrelsy;  — 

Toil  not  to  find  a  better  Paradise 
If  other  Paradise  indeed  there  be' 

70      Bl.    C.  L.  N.  A.    I.  J.      Dozakh  i  farsuda,  «an  old  hell,» /.  e 
vain  things  which  create  a  hell  for  you.     Bl. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  ,6i 


80. 

To  the  wine-house  I  saw  the  sag-e  repair, 
Bearing  a  wine-cup,  and  a  mat  for  prayer; 

I  said,  «  O  Shaikh,  what  does  this  conduct  mean  ?  * 
Said  he,  «Go  drink!  the  world  is  naught  but  air.» 


80.    N. 


81. 

The  Bulbul  to  the  garden  winged  his  way, 
Viewed  lily  cups,  and  roses  smiling  gay, 

Cried  in  ecstatic  notes,  <*  O  live  your  life, 
You  never  will  re-live  this  fleeting  day." 

81.     N.    The  MSS.  have  a  variation  of   this  beginning.  Bulbul  chu. 
Jam    .     .     .     ra.     See  Bl.,  Prosody,  p.   12. 


83. 

Thy  body  is  a  tent,  where  harbourage 
The  Sultan  spirit  takes  for  one  brief  age; 

When  he  departs,  comes  the  tent-pitcher   death. 
Strikes  it,  and  onward  moves,  another  stage. 

8a.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I..  J.     Manzil,  in  line  2,  «lodging»;in  line  3,  « stage  » 
Khimaye,  a  «tent.* 


83. 

Khayyam,  who  long  time  stitched  the  tents  of  learn- 

ing, 
Has  fallen  into  a  furnace,  and  lies  burning. 

Death's  shears  have  cut  his  thread  of  life  asunder. 
Fate's  brokers  sell  him  off  with  scorn  and  spurning. 

83.    C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J. 
II 


i62       QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 


84. 

In  the  sweet  spring  a  grassy  bank  I  sought, 
And  thither  wine,  and  a  fair  Houri  brought; 

And,   though  the  people  called  me  graceless  dog, 
Gave  not  to  Paradise  another  thought! 

84.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J.  Batar,  a  contraction.    See  Bl. ,  Prosody,  p.  10. 


85. 

Sweet  is  rose-ruddy  wine  in  goblets  gay, 
And  sweet  are  lute  and  harp  and  roundelay; 

But  for  the  zealot  who  ignores  the  cup, 
*Tis  sweet  when  he  is  twenty  leagues  away! 

85.     N.     The  MSS.  have  a  variation  of  this.     Note  Khush. 


86. 

Life,  void  of  wine,  and  minstrels  with  their  lutes. 
And  the  soft  murmurs  of  Irakian  flutes, 

Were  nothing  worth:  I  scan  the  world  and  see; 
Save  pleasure,  life  yields  only  bitter  fruits. 

86.     L.  N.     See  an  answer  to  this  in  No.  97. 


87. 


-^ 


Make  haste!  soon  must  you  quit  this  life  below, 
And  pass  the  veil,   and  Allah's  secrets  know; 

Make  haste  to  take  your  pleasure  while  you  may, 
You  wot  not  whence  you  come,   nor  whither  go. 

87.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.     In  Hne  3  scan  nidaniyaz. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  163 


88. 


Depart  we  must!  what  boots  it  then  to  be, 
To  walk  in  vain  desires  continually  ? 

Nay,  but  if  heaven  vouchsafe  no  place  of  rest. 
What  power  to  cease  our  wanderings  have  we  ? 

N.     In  line  3  &ca.n  Jay ig a.     Bl.,  Prosody,  p.   15. 


89. 

To  chant  wine's  praises  is  my  daily  task, 
I  live  encompassed  by  cup,   bowl  and  flask; 

Zealot!  if  reason  be  thy  guide,  then  know 
That  guide  of  me  doth  ofttimes  guidance  ask. 

C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.      In    line    1    scan    maddahiyi;    and    compare 
Horace, 

« Edocet    artes; 
Fecundi calices  quern  non  fecere  disertum.'*'* 


90. 

O  men  or  morals!  why  do  ye  defame, 
And  thus  misjudge  me  ?  I  am  not  to  blame. 

Save  weakness  for  the  grape,  and  female  charms, 
What  sins  of  mine  can  any  of  ye  name  ? 

90.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     This    change    of    persons    is    called    lltifat. 
Gladwin,  Persian  Rhetoric,  p.  56. 


91. 

Who  treads  in  passion's  footsteps  here  below, 
A  helpless  pauper  will  depart,   I  trow; 

Remember  who  you  are,  and  whence  you  come. 
Consider  what  you  do,  and  whither  go. 

91.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.     Khabarat:  see  Bl.,  Prosody,  p.  v. 


i64  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


92. 

Skies  like  a  zone  our  weary  lives  enclose, 
And  from  our  tear-stained  eyes  a  Jihun  flows; 

Hell  is  a  fire  enkindled  of  our  griefs; 
Heaven  but  a  moment's  peace,  stolen  from  our  woes, 

93.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J.     This    balanced   arrangement  of  similes  is 
called  Ttrsfa.     Gladwin,  p.  5. 


93- 

I  drown  in  sin  —  show  me  Thy  clemency! 
My  soul  is  dark  —  make  me  Thy  light  to  seef 

A  heaven  that  must  be  earned  by  painful  works, 
I  call  a  wage,  not  a  gift  fair  and  free. 

93.  C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.  Arabic  words  like  raza,  drop  the  hatnza  in 
Persian,  except  with  the  izafat:  (Bl. ,  Prosody  14).  For 
this  hafuza,  ya  is  often  used,  as  here. 


94. 

Did  He  who  made  me  fashion  me  for  hell, 
Or  destine  me  for  heaven  ?     I  cannot  tell. 

Yet  will  I  not  renounce  cup,  lute  and  love, 
Nor  earthly  cash  for  heavenly  credit  sell. 

94.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.      In   line  4  the  izafat  is  dropped   after  silent 
he.     Bl.,  Prosody,  p.  15. 


95- 

From  right  and  left  the  censors  came  and  stood. 
Saying,  "  Renounce  this  wine,  this  foe  of  good  ** ; 

But  if  wine  be  the  foe  of  holy  faith, 
By  Allah,  right  it  is  to  drink  its  blood! 

95.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J.     See  Koran,  ii.  187. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  165 


96. 


The  good  and  evil  with  man's  nature  blent, 

The  weal  and  woe  that  heaven's  decrees  have  sent, — 

Impute  them  not  to  motions  of  the  skies, — 
Skies  than  thyself  ten  times  more  impotent. 

96k  C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.  Fate  is  merely  the  decree  of  Allah.  For  the 
distinction  between  kaza  and  kadar,  see  Pocock,  '^'^  Speci- 
men Historiae  Arabum,'"'*  p.  207. 


97. 

Against  death's  arrows  what  are  buckles  worth  ? 
What  all  the  pomps  and  riches  of  the  earth  ? 

When  I  survey  the  world,  I  see  no  good 
But  goodness,  all  beside  is  nothing  worth. 

97.     N.     Possibly  written  on  the  margin  by  some  pious  reader  as  an 
answer  to  No.  86. 


98. 

Weak  souls,  who  from    the  world  cannot  refrain, 
Hold  life-long  fellowship  with  rule  and  pain; 

Hearts  free  from  worldly  cares  have  store  of  bliss, 
All  others  seeds  of  bitter  woe  contain. 

98.     L.  N.     Taj'rz'd,  see  Gulshan  i  Raz,  p.  8,  n. 


99. 

He,  in  whose  bosom  wisdom's  seed  is  sown, 
To  waste  a  single  day  was  never  known; 

Either  he  strives  to  work  great  Allah's  will. 
Or  else  exalts  the  cup,  and  works  his  own. 

99^     C,  L.  N.  A.    B.  I.  J.    Tarabe,  query,  takhme?  giving  a  line  in 
metre  23. 


1 66       QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 


When  Allah  mixed  my  clay,   He  knew  full  well 
My  future  acts,  and  could  each  one  foretell; 

Without  His  will  no  act  of  mine  was  wrought; 
Is  it  then  just  to  punish  me  in  hell  ? 

loo.  C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  Of  the  Moslem  theory  of  predestination,  Khayyam 
might  truly  say,  <^  Ten  thousand  mortals,  drowned  in  end- 
less woe,  for  doing  what  they  were  compelled  to  do?^ 


lOI. 

Ye,  who  cease  not  to  drink  on  common  days, 
Do  not  on  Friday  quit  your  drinking  ways; 

Adopt  my  creed,  and  count  all  days  the  same, 
Be  worshippers  of  God,  and  not  of  days. 

loi.     L.  N.     In  line  3  scan  yaktst. 


If  grace  be  grace,  and  Allah  gracious  be, 
Adam  from  Paradise  why  banished  He  ? 

Grace  to  poor  sinners  shown  is  grace  indeed; 
In  grace  hard  earned  by  works  no  grace  I  see. 

102.     N.     The  tashdid  of  rabb  is  dropped.     Bl.,  Prosody,  p.  iv. 


103. 

Dame  Fortune's  smiles  are  full  of  guile,  beware! 
Her  scimitar  is  sharp  to  smite,  take  care! 

If  e'er  she  drop  a  sweetmeat  in  thy  mouth, 
'Tis  poisonous, —  to  swallow  it  forbear! 

10:3.     C.  L.  A.  B.  I.     Hush  contracted  from  hash. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  167 


104. 

Where'er  you  see  a  rose  or  tulip  bed, 
Know  that  a  mighty  monarch's  blood  was  shed 
And  where  the  violet  rears  her  purple  tuft, 
Be  sure  a  black-moled  girl  hath  laid  her  head. 

104.     B.   L.     The    MSS.   have    a    variation  of   this,  beginning   /fa*- 
khisht  ki. 


^05. 

Wine  is  a  melting  ruby,  cup  its  mine; 
Cup  is  the  body,   and  the  soul  is  wine; 

These  crystal  goblets  smile  with  ruddy  wine 
Like  tears,  that  blood  of  wounded  hearts  enshrine. 

105.    L.  B. 


106. 

Drink  wine!  'tis  life  etern,  and  travail's  meed, 
Fruitage  of  youth,  and  balm  of  age's  need: 

'Tis  the  glad  time  of  roses,   wine  and  friends; 
Rejoice  thy  spirit  —  that  is  life  indeed. 

106.     L.  B.     There    being   no   izafat  after  yaran,  sar  i  mast  must 
agree  with  haftgam. 


107. 

Drink  wine!  long  must  you  sleep  within  the  tomb, 
Without  a  friend,  or  wife  to  cheer  your  gloom; 

Hear  what  I  say,   and  tell  it  not  again, 
"  Never  again  can  withered  tulips  bloom. " 

107.    C.  A.  B.   I.  J.     This  recalls  the  chorus  in  the  "Oedipus  Colon- 
eus.'> 


i68  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


They  preach  how  sweet  those  Houri  brides  will  be, 
But  I  say  wine  is  sweeter  —  taste  and  see! 

Hold  fast  this  cash,  and  let  that  credit  go, 
And  shun  the  din  of  empty  drums  like  me. 

io8.     C.  L.  A.  B.  I.  J.     Sin,  «nuptials.»     Like  me,  i.e.,  as  I  do. 


109. 

Once  and  again  my  soul  did  me  implore, 
To  teach  her,  if  I  might,   the  heavenly  lore; 

I  bade  her  learn  the  Alif  well  by  heart. 
Who  knows  that  letter  well  need  learn  no  more. 

109.  B.  Aiif  Kafat,  the  One  (God)  is  enough.  Probably  a  quota- 
tion. Hafiz  (Ode  416)  uses  the  same  expression:  <<He 
who  knows  the  One  knows  all.>> 


no. 

I  came  not  hither  of  my  own  free  will. 
And  go  against  my  wish,  a  puppet  still; 

Cupbearer!  gird  thy  loins,  and  fetch  some  wine; 
To  purge  the  world's  despite,  my  goblet  fill. 

110.     C.  L.  A.  B.   I.  J.    ' Azme,  ya  i  tankir,  or  tans  ifif 


How  long  must  I  make  bricks  upon  the  sea  ? 
Beshrew  this  vain  task  of  idolatry; 

Call  not  Khayyam  a  denizen  of  hell; 
One  while  in  heaven,  and  one  in  hell  is  he. 

\l\.     Q.  h.  A.   B.   I.  J.     Andar-ba,  Bl.,  Prosody  12. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  169 


Sweet  is  the  breath  of  Spring  to  rose's  face, 
And  thy  sweet  face  adds  charm  to  this  fair  place; 

To-day  is  sweet,  but  yesterday  is  sad, 
And  sad  all  mention  of  its  parted  grace. 

112.  C.  L.  A.  B.  I.  J.  Khilsh  is  pronounced  khash  or  khUsh. 
Bl. ,  Prosody,  p.  12.  Guyi  is  generally  written  with  hamza 
and  ya,  but  in  some  MSS.  fatha  is  substituted  for  the 
hamza  [?]. 


"3- 

To-night  pour  wine,  and  sing  a  dulcet  air, 
And  I  upon  thy  lips  will  hang,   O  fair; 

Yea,  pour  some  wine  as  rosy  as  thy  cheeks, 
My  mind  is  troubled  like  thy  ruffled  hair. 

113.     B.     Roztyyt. 


114. 

Pen,  tablet,  heaven  and  hell  I  looked  to  see 
Above  the  skies,  from  all  eternity; 

At  last  the  master  sage  instructed  me, 
^*  Pen,  tablet,  heaven  and  hell  are  all  in  thee.  ** 

114.     Allah    writes    his    decrees    with    the    «pen»    on    the    « tablet.'* 
Koran,  Ixviii.l.     See  Gulshan  i  Raz,  1,  n. 


"5. 

The  fruit  of  certitude  he  cannot  pluck. 

The  path  that  leads  thereto  who  never  struck, 

Nor  ever  shook  the  bough  with  strenuous  hand; 
To-day  is  lost;  hope  for  to-morrow's  luck. 

J15.     L.  B.     Lit.     «  Consider  to-morrow  your  first  day.» 


I70  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 

ii6. 

Now  spring-tide  showers  its  foison  on  the  land, 
And  lively  hearts  wend  forth,  a  joyous  band, 

For  'Isa's  breath  wakes  the  dead  earth  to  life, 
And  trees  gleam  white  with  flowers,  like  Musa's  hand. 

ii6.  B.  Alluding  to  the  life-giving  breath  of  Jesus,  and  the  white 
hand  of  Moses.  (Exodus,  iv.  6.)  Bakhnshi  dastrase  {ya  t 
tankz'r),  ^'•an  aid  to  joy,»  i.e..  Spring. 


117. 

Alas  for  that  cold  heart,  which  never  glows 

With  love,  nor  e'er  that  charming  madness  knows; 

The  days  misspent  with  no  redeeming  love;  — 
No  days  are  wasted  half  as  much  as  those! 

117.    Bl.   L.  B. 


118. 

The  zephyrs  waft  thy  fragrance,  and  it  takes 
My  heart,  and  me,  his  master,  he  forsakes; 

Careless  of  me  he  pants  and  leaps  to  thee, 
And  thee  his  pattern  and  ensample  makes! 

118.  Bl.  C.  L.  A.  I.  J.  Also  ascribed  to  Abu  Sa'id  bin  Abul 
Khair.  C.  writes  biiyt  with  two  yas,  and  haniza  on  the 
first  The  second  ya  seems  to  be  ya  i  baini  or  tatisifi, 
though  that  is  usual  only  before  adjectives.  Bl.,  Prosody, 
p.   II. 


119. 

Drink  wine !  and  then  as  Mahmud  thou  wilt  reign, 
And  hear  a  music  passing  David's  strain: 

Think  not  of  past  or  future,  seize  to-day, 
Then  all  thy  life  will  not  be  lived  in  vain. 

119.    Bl.    C.  L.  A.  I.  J. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  171 


120. 

Ten  Powers,  and  nine  spheres,  eight  heavens  made  He, 
And  planets  seven,  of  six  sides,  as  we  see, 

Five  senses,  and  four  elements,  three  souls, 
Two  worlds,  but  only  one,  O  man,  like  thee. 

L.  A  summary  of  the  Muhammadan  doctrine  of  «  Emanations. » 
See  Gtilshan  i  Raz,  p.  21.  Three  souls,  /.  <?.,  vegetive, 
animal  and  human,  as  in  Aristotle's  De  Anima.  Akhta- 
ram  (?),  also  in  Cambridge  MS. 


121. 

Jewry  hath  seen  a  thousand  prophets  die, 
Sinai  a  thousand  Musas  mount   the  sky; 

How  many  Caesars  Rome's  proud  forum  crossed! 
'Neath   Kasra's  dome  how  many  monarchs  lie! 

121.     L.  J.    Time  is  long  and  life  short. 


Gold  breeds  not  wit,  but  to  wit  lacking-  bread 
Earth's  flowery  carpet  seems  a  dungeon  bed; 

'Tis  his  full  purse  that  makes  the  rose  to  smile, 
While  empty-handed  violets  hang  the  head. 

122.     L.     Alluding  to  the  golden  stamens  of  the  rose.      I  supply  tiht 
from  the  Cambridge  MS. 


123. 

Heaven's  wheel  has  made  full  many  a  heart  to  moan, 
And  many  a  budding  rose  to  earth  has  thrown; 

Plume  thee  not   on  thy  youth  and  lusty  strength, 
Full  many  a  bud  is  blasted  ere  'tis  blown. 


123.     L. 


172  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


124. 

What  lord  is  fit  to  rule  but  « Truth  *'  ?     Not  one. 
What  beings  disobey  His  rule  ?     Not  one. 

All  things  that  are,  are  such  as  He  decrees; 
And  naught  is  there  beside  beneath  the  sun. 

124.     C.  L.  A.  I.     « The  Truth  »  is  a  Sufi  name  for  the  Deity. 


125- 

That  azure  coloured  vault  and  golden  tray- 
Have  turned,  and  will  turn  yet  for  many  a  day; 
And  just  so  we,   impelled  by  turns  of  fate, — 
Come  here  but  for  a  while,   then  pass  away. 

125.     Bl.  L.     Guzasht,  «It  is  all  over  with  us.»    Bl.     « Golden  tray,» 
the  Sun. 


126. 

The  Master  did  himself  these  vessels  frame, 
Why  should  he  cast  them  out  to  scorn  and  shame  ? 
If  he  has  made   them  well,  why   should   he  break 
them  ? 
Yea,  though  he  marred  them,  they  are  not  to  blame. 

126.     C.  L.  A.  I.  J.     In  line  4  stiwar  is  an  Arabic  plural  used  as  a 
singular.     Bl.,  Prosody,  p.  5. 


127. 

Kindness  to  friends  and  foes  'tis  well  to  show, 
No  kindly  heart  can  prove  unkind,  I  trow: 
Harshness  will  alienate  a  bosom  friend, 
And  kindness  reconcile  a  deadly  foe, 

127.     L.     In  line  3  scan  neykiyash. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  173 


128. 


To  lovers  true,  what  matters  dark  or  fair  ? 
Or  if  the  loved  one  silk  or  sackcloth  wear, 

Or  lie  on  down  or  dust,  or  rise  to  heaven? 
Yea,  though  she  sink  to  hell,  he'll  seek  her  there. 

128.     L.     Probably  Mystical. 


129. 

Full  many  a  hill  and  vale  I  journeyed  o'er; 

Yea,  journeyed  through  the  world's  wide  quarters  four, 

But  never  heard  of  pilgrim  who  returned; 
When  once  they  go,  they  go  to  come  no  more. 

139.     C.  L.  N.  (in  part)  A.  I.  J. 


130- 

Wine-houses  flourish  through  this  thirst  of  mine, 
Loads  of  remorse  weigh  down  this  back  of  mine; 

Yet,  if  I  sinned  not,  what  would  mercy  do? 
Mercy  depends  upon  these  sins  of  mine. 

130.  C.  Bl.  L.  A.  I.  J.  Bl.  quotes  similar  sentiments  from  Nizami 
and  Hafiz.  Mercy  is  God's  highest  attribute,  and  sin  is  re- 
quired to  call  it  forth. 


131. 

Thy  being  is  the  being  of  Another, 
Thy  passion  is  the  passion  of  Another. 

Cover  thy  head,  and  think,  and  thou  wilt  see. 
Thy  hand  is  but  the  cover  of  Another. 

131.     Bl.     Meaning  God  is  th«  Fa'il  i  hakiki,  the  only  real  Agent 


174  QUATRAINS   OF    OMAR   KHAYYAM 


132- 

From  learning  to  the  cup  your  bridle  turn; 
All  lore  of  world  to  come,  save   Kausar,  spurn; 

Your  turban  pawn  for  wine,  or  keep  a  shred 
To  bind  your  brow,  and  all  the  remnant  burn, 

132.     N.     Kausar,  the  river  of  wine  in  Paradise. 


133- 

See !  from  the  world  what  profit  have  I  gained  ? 
What  fruitage  of    my  life   in  hand  retained  ? 

What  use  is  Jamshid's  goblet,  once   'tis  crushed  ? 
What  pleasure's  torch,  when  once  its  light  has  waned  ? 

^33.     L.  N.     Tarf  bar  bast  an,  <no  reap  advantage.  >> 


134- 

When  life  is  spent,  what's  Balkh  or  Nishapore  ? 
What   sweet  or  bitter,  when   the   cup  runs  o'er? 

Come  drink!  full  many  a  moon  will  wax  and  wane 
In  times  to  come,  when  we  are  here  no  more. 

134.    C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J. 


135- 

O  fair!  whose  cheeks  checkmate  red  eglantine, 
And  draw  the  game  with  those  fair  maids  of  Chin; 

You  played    one  glance    against  the  king  of  Babil 
And  took  his  pawns,  and  knights,  and  rooks,  and 
queen. 

135.    L.  B. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  175 


136. 


Life's  caravan  is  hastening  on  its  way; 
Brood  not  on  troubles  of  the  coming  day, 

But  fill  the  wine-cup,  ere  sweet  night  be  gone, 
And  snatch  a  pleasant  moment,  while  you  may. 

136.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.   I.  J.     The  «r/«^^»  loved  a  dark  night.     Bl. 


137. 

He,  who  the  world's  foundations  erst  did  lay, 
Doth  bruise  full  many  a  bosom  day  by  day. 

And  many  a  ruby  lip  and  musky  tress 
Doth  coffin  in  the  earth,   and  shroud  with  clay. 

137.  C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.  So  Job,  «Is  it  good  unto  thee  that  thou 
shouldest  oppress,  that  thou  shouldest  despise  the  work  of 
thine  hands  ?  » 


138. 

Be  not  beguiled  by  world's  insidious  wiles; 

O  foolish  ones,  ye  know  her  tricks  and  guiles; 

Your  precious  life-time  cast  not  to  the  winds; 
Haste  to  seek  wine,  and  court  a  sweetheart's  smile. 


138.    N. 


139- 

Comrades!  I  pray  you,  physic  me  with  wine. 
Make  this  wan  amber  face  like  rubies  shine, 

And,  if  I  die,   use  wine  to  wash  my  corpse, 
And  frame  my  coffin  out  of  planks  of  vine! 

139.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.   I.     Kahraba,  «amber,»  literally   «attractor   of 
straw.  >> 


176  QUATRAINS  OF   OMAR  KHAYYAM 


140, 

When  Allah  yoked  the  courses  of  the  sun, 
And  launched  the  Pleiades  their  race  to  run, 
My  lot  was  fixed  in  fate's  high  chancery; 
Then  why  blame  me  for  wrong  that  fate  has  done? 

140.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     Also  ascribed  to  Afzul  Kashi. 


141. 

Ah!  seasoned  wine  oft  falls  to  rawest  fools, 
And  clumsiest  workmen  own  the  finest  tools; 

And  Turki  maids,   fit  to  delight  men's  hearts. 
Lavish  their  smiles  on  beardless  boys  in  school! 

141.     N.     So  Hafiz,  « If  that  Turki  maid  of  Shiraz,»  etc. 


142. 

Whilom,  ere  youth's    conceit    had   waned,  methought 
Answers  to  all  life's  problems  I  had  wrought; 

But  now,   grown  old  and  wise,  too  late  I  see 
My  life  is  spent,  and  all  my  lore  is  naught. 

142.     N.     C.  A.  and  I.  give  another  version  of  this. 


143. 

They  who  of  prayer-mats  make  such  great  display 
Are  fools  to  bear  hypocrisy's  hard  sway; 

Strange!  under  cover  of  this  saintly  show 
They  live  like   heathen,   and  their  faith  betray. 

143.  C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  In  line  2,  note  the  arrangement  of  the  prep- 
ositions. There  is  a  proverb,  «The  Devil  lives  in  Mecca 
and  Medinah." 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  177 

144. 

To  him  who  would  his  sins  extenuate, 
Let  pious  men  this  verse  reiterate, 

"  To  call  God's  prescience  the  cause  of  sin 
In  wisdom's  purview  is  but  folly's  prate.** 

144.     L.  N.     Sahl,  of  *<no  account.* 


145- 

He  broug-ht  me  hither,   and  I  felt  surprise, 
From  life  I  gather  but  a  dark  surmise, 

I  go  against  my  will; — thus,   why   I  come, 
Why  live,    why  go,   are  all  dark  mysteries. 

145.     C.  L.  N.  A. 


146. 

When  I  recall  my  grievous  sins  to  mind, 

Fire  burns  my  breast,   and  tears  my  vision  blind; 

Yet,   when  a  slave  repents,  is  it  not  meet 
His  lord  should  pardon,   and  again  be  kind  ? 

146.  L.  N.  In  line  2,  az  sar  guzarad  vat.^ca.^^'^^xo^s,  from  the  eyes,* 
and  in  line  4,  «  remits  the  penalty.*  This  change  of  mean- 
ing is  called   Tajnis. 


147- 

They  at  whose   lore   the  whole  world  stands  amazed, 
Whose    high    thoughts,    like     Borak,    to    heaven    are 

raised. 
Strive    to    know  Thee    in  vain,   and   like   heaven's 

wheel 
Their  heads  are  turning,  and  their  brains  are  dazed. 

147.     C.  L.  N.  A.     Borak,  or  Burak,  the  steed    on  which  Muhammad 
made  his  famous  nocturnal  ascent  to  heaven, 
12 


178  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


148. 

Allah  hath  promised  wine  in  Paradise, 

Why  then  should  wine  on  earth  be  deemed  a  vice  ? 

An  Arab  in  his  cups  cut  Hamzah's  girths, — 
For  that  sole  cause  was  drink  declared  a  vice. 

L.  N.     Nicolas  says  this  refers  to   an  event  which  occurred  to 
Hamzah,  a  relation  of  Muhammad. 


149. 

Now  of  old  joys  naught  but  the  name  is  left, 
Of  all  old  friends  but  wine  we  are   bereft, 

And  that  wine  ncw^  but  still  cleave  to  the  cup, 
For  save  the  cup,  what  single  joy  is  left  ? 

149.    L.  N.   B. 


150. 

The  world  will  last  long  after  Khayyam's  fame 
Has  passed  away,  yea,  and  his  very  name; 

Aforetime  we  were  not,  and  none  did  heed. 
When  we  are  dead  and  gone,  'twill  be  the  same. 


150.    N. 


151- 

The  sages  who  have  compassed  sea  and  land, 
Their  secret  to  search  out,   and  understand, — 

My  mind  misgives  me  if  they  ever  solve 
The  scheme  on  which  this  universe  is  planned. 

C.  L.  N.  A.  I. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  179 


152. 


Ah!  wealth  takes  wings,  and  leaves  our  hands  all  bare, 
And  death's  rough  hands  delight  our  hearts  to  tear; 

And  from  the  nether  world  none  e'er  escapes, 
To  bring  us  news  of  the  poor  pilgrims  there. 

152.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I, 


153- 

'Tis  passing  strange,  those  titled  noblemen 
Find  their  own  lives  a  burden  sore,  but  when 

They  meet  with  poorer  men,  not  slaves  to  sense, 
They  scarcely  deign  to  reckon  them  as  men. 

153.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I. 


154. 

The  wheel  on  high,  still  busied  with  despite. 
Will  ne'er  unloose  a  wretch  from  his  sad  plight; 

But  when  it  lights  upon  a  smitten  heart, 
Straightway  essays  another  blow  to  smite. 

154.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.     Vullers,  Section  207. 


155. 

Now  is  the  volume  of  my  youth  outworn. 
And  all  my  spring-tide  blossoms  rent  and  torn. 

Ah,  bird  of  youth!  I  marked  not  when  you  came, 
Nor  when  you  fled,  and  left  me  thus  forlorn. 

155.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I. 


i8o       QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 


156. 

These  fools,  by  dint  of  ignorance  most  crass, 
Think  they  in  wisdom  all  mankind  surpass; 

And  glibly  do  they  damn  as  infidel. 
Whoever  is  not,  like  themselves,  an  ass, 

156.     N.     So    Job,  «Ye   are    the    people,  and  wisdom    shall    die  with 
you.»    Probably  addressed  to  the  'Ulama. 


157- 

Still  be  the  wine-house  thronged  with  its  glad  choir. 
And  Pharisaic  skirts  burnt  up  with  fire; 

Still  be  those  tattered  frocks   and  azure  robes 
Trod  under  feet  of  revellers  in  the  mire. 

157.     C.  L.  N.  A.  J.     Hafiz  (Ode  V.)  speaks  of  the  blue  robes  of  cer- 
tain Dervishes  as  a  mark  of  hypocrisy. 


158. 

Why  toil  ye  to  ensure  illusions  vain. 
And  good  or  evil  of  the  world  attain  ? 

Ye  rise  like  Zamzam,  or  the  fount  of  life, 
And,  like  them,  in  earth's  bosom  sink  again. 

158.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I. 


159- 

Till  the  Friend  pours  his  wine  to  glad  my  heart, 
No  kisses  to  my  face  will  heaven  impart: 

They  say,   "  Repent  in  time  * ;  but  how  repent, 
Ere  Allah's  grace  hath  softened  my  hard  heart  ? 

159.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.     Meaning,  man  is  powerless  to  mend  his    ways 
without  Divine  grace. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  i8i 


1 60. 


When  I  am  dead,  take  me  and  grind  me  small, 
So  that  I  be  a  caution  unto  all, 

And  knead  me  into  clay  with  wine,  and  then 
Use  me  to  stop  the  wine-jar's  mouth  withal. 

160.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


161. 


What  though  the  sky  with  its  blue  canopy 
Doth  close  us  in  so  that  we  cannot  see. 

In  the  etern  Cupbearer's  wine  methinks, 
There  float  a  myriad  bubbles  like  to  me. 


161.    N. 


162. 

Take  heart!  Long  in  the  weary  tomb  you'll  lie, 
While  stars  keep  countless  watches  in  the  sky, 

And  see  your  ashes  moulded  into  bricks. 
To  build  another's  house  and  turrets  high. 

162.     L.  N.     C.  A.  and  I.  split  this  into  two.     In  line  i  note  izafat 
dropped  after  silent  he. 


163. 

Glad  hearts,  who  seek  not  notoriety, 
Nor  flaunt  in  gold  and  silken  bravery, 

Haunt  not  this  ruined  earth  like  gloomy  owls, 
But  wing  their  way,  Simurgh-like,  to  the  sky. 

163.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I. 


iS2  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


164. 

Wine's  power  is  known  to  wine-bibbers  alone, 
To  narrow  heads  and  hearts  'tis  never  shown ; 
I  blame  not  them  who  never  felt  its  force, 
For,  till  they  feel  it,  how  can  it  be  known. 

164.     C.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


165. 

Needs  must  the  tavern-hunter  bathe  in  wine, 
For  none  can  make  a  tarnished  name  to  shine; 

Go!  bring  me  wine,  for  none  can  now  restore 
Its  pristine  sheen  to  this  soiled  veil  of  mine. 

165.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.     In  line  3  scan  viasturiyi  dissolving  the  letter 
of  prolongation  ya. 


166.       . 

I  wasted  life  in  hope,  yet  gathered  not 
In  all  my  life  of  happiness  one  jot; 

Now  my  fear  is  that  life  may  not  endure. 
Till  I  have  taken  vengeance  on   my  lot! 

166.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.     Rozgare,  «some  time.»     In  line  3  note  the  madd 
of  An  dropped.    Bl.,  Prosody,  p.  11. 


167. 

Be  very  wary  in  the  soul's  domain, 

And  on   the  world's  affairs  your  lips  refrain; 

Be,  as  it  were,  sans  tongue,  sans  ear,  sans  eye, 
While  tongue,  and  ears,  and  eyes  you  still  retain. 

167.    L.  N. 


E.   H.   WHINFIELD  183 


168. 


Let  him  rejoice  who  has  a  loaf  of  bread, 
A  little  nest  wherein  to  lay  his  head, 

Is  slave  to  none,  and  no  man  slaves  for  him, — 
In  truth  his  lot  is  wondrous  well  bested. 

168.    C.  L.  N.  A. 


169. 

What  adds  my  service  to  Thy  majesty  ? 
Or  how  can  sin  of  mine  dishonour  Thee  ? 
O  pardon,  then,  and  punish  not,  I   know 
Thou'rt  slow  to  wrath,  and  prone  to  clemency. 

169.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I. 


170. 

Hands,  such  as  mine,  that  handle  bowls  of  wine, 
'Twere  shame  to  book  and  pulpit  to  confine; 

Zealot!  thou'rt  dry,  and  I  am  moist  with  drink, 
Yea,  far  too  moist  to  catch  that  fire  of  thine! 

170,  L.  N.  I  follow  Nicolas  in  taking  mani  as  a  possessive  pro- 
noun, «  mine,'>  though  such  a  word  is  not  mentioned  in  any 
grammar  or  dictionary.     It  occurs  again  in  No.  478. 


171. 

Whoso  aspires  to  gain  a  rose-cheeked  fair, 

Sharp  pricks  from  fortune's  thorns  must  learn  to  bear. 

See!  till  this  comb  was  cleft  by  cruel  cuts, 
It  never  dared  to  touch  my  lady's  hair. 

171.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.     Lyttleton  expresses  a  similar  sentiment. 


t84  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


172. 

For  ever  may  my  hands  on  wine  be  stayed. 
And  my  heart  pant  for  some  fair  Houri  maid ! 
They  say,  ^^  May  Allah  aid  thee  to  repent !  " 
Repent  I  could  not,  e'en  with  Allah's  aid! 

172.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J.     Note    the    conjunctive    pronoun    separated 
from  its  noun. 


173- 

Soon  shall  I  go,  by  time   and  fate  deplored, 
Of  all  my  precious  pearls  not  one  is  bored ; 

Alas!  there  die  with  me  a  thousand  truths 
To  which  these  fools  fit  audience  ne'er  accord. 

173.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I. 


174. 

To-day  how  sweetly  breathes  the  temperate  air, 
The  rains  have  newly  laved  the  parched  parterre; 

And  Bulbuls  cry  in  notes  of  ecstasy, 
<*  Thou  too,  O  pallid  rose,  our  wine  must  share !  * 

174.    L.  N.  B. 


175- 

Ere  you  succumb  to  shocks  of  mortal  pain, 
The  rosy  grape-juice  from  your  wine-cup  drain. 

You  are  not  gold,  that,  hidden  in  the  earth. 
Your  friends  should  care  to  dig  you  up  again! 

175.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J.     Note  the  old  form  of  the  imperative. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  185 


176. 


My  coming  brought  no  profit  to  the  sky, 
Nor  does  my  going  swell  its  majesty; 

Coming  and  going  put  me  to  a  stand, 
Ear  never  heard  their  wherefore  nor  their  why. 

176.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J.     Voltaire  has  some  similar  lines  in  his  poem 
on  the  Lisbon  earthquake. 


177. 

The  heavenly  Sage,  whose  wit  exceeds  compare, 
Counteth  each  vein,   and  numbereth  every  hair; 

Men  you  may  cheat  by  hypocritic  arts, 
But  how  cheat  Him  to  whom  all  hearts  are  bare  ? 

177.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


178. 

Ah!  wine  lends  wings  to  many  a  weary  wight. 
And  beauty  spots  to  ladies'   faces  bright; 

All  Ramazan  I  have  not  drunk  a  drop. 
Thrice  welcome,   then,    O  Bairam's  blessed  night! 

178.  Bairam,  the  feast  on  the  ist  Shawwal,  after  Ramazan.  In 
line  2  Khirad  seems  wrong,  the  rhyme  would  suggest 
Kharo? 


179. 

All  night  in  deep  bewilderment  I  fret. 

With  tear-drops  big  as  pearls  my  breast  is  wet; 

I  cannot  fill  my  cranium  with  wine, 
How  can  it  hold  wine,   when   'tis    thus  upset  ? 

179.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.     Note  tashdid  of  durr  dropped. 


i86  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


1 80. 

To  prayer  and  fasting  when  my  heart  inclined, 
All  my  desire  I  surely  hoped  to  find; 

Alas!  my  purity  is  stained  with  wine, 
My  prayers  are  wasted  like  a  breath  of  wind. 

180.    C.  L.  N.   A.  I.     In    line    2   scan   Kulliyam.     In    line    4    note 
izafat  dropped  after  silent  he. 


181. 

I  worship   rose-red  cheeks  with  heart  and  soul, 
I  suffer  not  my  hand  to  quit  the  bowl, 

I  make  each  part  of  me  his  function  do, 
Or  e'er  my  parts  be  swallowed  in  the  Whole. 

181.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.     Line  4  alludes   to   reabsorption   in  the   Divine 
essence.    Note  juswiyam,  and  tashdid  of  kull  dropped. 


182. 

This  worldly  love  of  yours  is  counterfeit. 

And,   like  a  half-spent  blaze,   lacks  light  and  heat; 

True  love  is  his,  who  for  days,  months  and  years, 
Rests  not,  nor  sleeps,  nor  craves  for  drink  or  meat. 

182.     L.  N.  B.     Line  3  is  in  metre  17. 


183. 

Why  spend  life  in  vainglorious  essay 
All  Being  and  Not-being  to  survey  ? 

Since  Death  is  ever  pressing  at  your  heels, 
'Tis  best  to  drink  or  dream  your  life  away. 

C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.  In  line  2  scan  payi.  Being,  i.  e.,  the  Deity, 
the  only  real  existence,  and  Not-being,  the  nonentity  in 
which  His  attributes  are  reflected. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  187 


184. 


Some  hanker  after  that   vain  phantasy 
Of  Houris,  feigned  in  Paradise  to  be; 

But,   when  the  veil  is  lifted,   they  will  find 
How  far  they  are  from  Thee,  how  far  from  Thee' 

C.  L.  N.  A.  I 


185. 

In  Paradise,  they  tell  us,   Houris  dwell, 
And  fountains  run  with  wine   and  oxymel: 

If  these  be  lawful  in  the  world  to  come, 
Surely  'tis  right  to  love  them  here  as  well. 

185.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


186. 

A  draught  of  wine  would  make  a  mountain  dance. 
Base  is  the  churl  who  looks  at  wine  askance; 

Wine  is  a  soul  our  bodies  to  inspire, 
A  truce  to  this  vain  talk  of  temperance! 

186.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I. 


187. 

Oft  doth  my  soul  her  prisoned  state  bemoan. 
Her  earth-born  co-mate  she  would  fain  disown, 

And  quit,   did  not  the  stirrup  of  the  law 
Upbear  her  foot  from  dashing  on  the  stone. 

187.     N.     Meaning,  «I    would   make   away  with    myself,  were  it  not 
for  the  Almighty's  gi^non  'gainst  self -slaughter. » 


i88  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 

1 88. 

The  moon  of  Ramazan  is  risen,  see! 

Alas,   our  wine  must  henceforth  banished  be; 

Well!  on  Sha'ban's  last  day  I'll  drink  enough 
To  keep  me  drunk  till  Bairam's   jubilee. 

1 88.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.     Note   wa  omitted  in  line  2.     Also   ascribed  to 
Jalal  'Asad  Bardi. 


189. 

From  life  we  draw  now  wine,  now  dregs  to  drink, 
Now  flaunt  in  silk,   and  now  in  tatters  shrink; 

Such  changes  wisdom  holds  of  slight  account 
To  those  who  stand  on  death's  appalling  brink! 


189.    N 


190. 

What  sage  the  eternal  tangle  e'er  unravelled. 
Or  one  short  step  beyond  his  nature  travelled  ? 
From  pupils  to  the  masters  turn  your  eyes, 
And  see,  each  mother's  son  alike  is  gravelled. 

190.  C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  In  line  i  note  ra  put  after  the  genitive, 
following  its  noun.  'Ij'z.  .  .  .  "impotence  is  in  the 
hand  of  each.>>  « Beyond  his  nature, '>  i.e.,  beyond  the 
limit  of  his  own  thought. 


191. 

Crave  not  of  worldly  sweets  to  take  your  fill, 
Nor  wait  on  turns  of  fortune,  good  or  ill; 

Be  of  light  heart,  as  are  the  skies  above, 
They  roll  a  round  or  two,  and  then  lie  still. 

191      C.   L.   N.  A.  B.  I.     The  skies  have  their  allotted  term  like  you, 
yet  do  not  distress  themselves. 


E.  H.  WHlNFIELD  189 


192, 

What  eye  can  pierce  the  veil  of  God's  decrees, 
Or  read  the  riddle  of  earth's  destinies? 

Pondered  have  I  for  years  threescore  and  ten, 
But  still  am  baffled  by  these  mysteries. 

192.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.     So  Job,  «The  thunder  of  his   power    who   car 
understand  ?  » 


193- 

They  say,  when  the  last  trump  shall  sound  its  knell, 
Our  Friend  will  sternly  judge,   and  doom  to  hell. 

Can  aught  but  good  from  perfect  goodness  come  ? 
Compose  your  trembling  hearts,   'twill  all  be  well. 

193.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.    Jiizi,   (?)  jiiz  az. 


194. 

Drink  wine  to  root  up  metaphysic  weeds. 
And  tangle  of  the  two-and-seventy  creeds; 

Do  not  forswear  that  wondrous  alchemy, 
'Twill  turn  to  gold,  and  cure  a  thousand  needs. 

194.  C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  Muhammad  said,  *My  people  .shall  be 
divided  into  seventy-three  sects,  all  of  which,  save  one, 
shall  have  their  portion  in  the  fire.*    Pocock,  Specimen  210. 


195- 

Though    drink    is   wrong,   take   care   with  whom  you 

drink, 
And  who  you  are  that  drink,  and  what  you  drink; 

And  drink  at  will,  for,  these  three  points  observed, 
Who  but  the   very  wise   can  ever  drink  ? 

*9ij.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.     A  hit  at  the  casuistry  on  the  subject  of  wine. 


»9o       QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 


196. 

To  drain  a  gallon  beaker  I  design, 

Yea,  two  great  beakers,  brimmed  with  richest  wine; 

Old  faith  and  reason  thrice  will  I  divorce, 
Then  take  to  wife  the  daughter  of  the   vine. 

196.     C.  N.  A.  I.     A  triple  divorce  is  irrevocable.     Koran,  ii.  330. 


197. 

True  I  drink  wine,  like  every  man  of  sense. 
For  I  know  Allah   will  not  take  offence; 

Before  time  was,  He  knew  that  I  should  drink, 
And  who  am  I  to  thwart  His  prescience  ? 

X97.    C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I. 


198: 

Rich  men,  who  take  to  drink,  the  world  defy 
With   shameless  riot,  and  as  beggars  die; 

Place  in  my  ruby  pipe  some  emerald  hemp, 
'Twill  do  as  well  to  blind  care's  serpent  eye. 

198.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.     Scan  af'ayz.      The  emerald  is  supposed  to  have 
the  virtue  of  blinding  serpents. 


199. 

These  fools  have  never  burnt  the  midnight  oil 
In  deep  research,  nor  do  they  ever  toil 

To  step  beyond  themselves,    but  dress  them  fine, 
And  plot  of  credit  others  to  despoil. 

199.  C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  Shame  chand :  Vullers  (p.  253)  takes  this  ya 
to  be  ya  i  iankir;  and  Lumsden  (ii.  269)  says  the  presence 
of  this  letter,  between  a  noun  and  its  attribute,  dispenses 
with  the  izafat  (?).  But  why  not  add  the  12 a/at,  and 
scan  Shamtyi? 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  191 


200. 

When  false  dawn  streaks  the  east  with  cold,  grey  line, 
Pour  in  your  cups  the  pure  blood  of  the  vine; 

The  truth,  they  say,  tastes  bitter  in  the  mouth, 
This  is  a  token  that  the   "  Truth  ^^  is  wine. 

200.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     False  dawn,  the  faint  light  before  sunrise. 


Now  is  the  time  earth  decks  her  greenest  bowers, 
And  trees,  like  Musa's  hand,  grow  white  with  flowers! 

As  'twere  at  'Isa's  breath  the  plants  revive, 
While  clouds  brim  o'er,  like  tearful  eyes,  with  show- 
ers. 

C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.     Musa  and  'Isa  are  often  written  without  the 
alif  i  maksur.     Bl. ,  Prosody  3. 


O  burden  not  thyself  with  drudgery, 
Lord  of  white  silver  and  red  gold  to  be ; 

But   feast   with    friends,  ere    this   warm  breath  of 
thine 
Be  chilled  in  death,  and  earthworms  feast  on  thee. 


202.    N. 


203. 

The  showers  of  grape-juice,  which  cupbearers  pour. 
Quench  fires  of  grief  in  many  a  sad  heart's  core 

Praise  be  to  Allah,  who  hath  sent  this  balm 
To  heal  sore  hearts,  and  spirits'  health  restore! 

203.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.     In  line  i  some    MSS.  reads   bakhak.  Didayt 
garm,  «eyes  of  anguish. »    Scan  garm  atishi  (  Alif  i  wasl). 


192  QUATRAINS   OP   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


204. 


Can  alien  Pharisees  Thy  kindness  tell, 

Like   us,  Thy  intimates,  who  nigh  Thee  dwell  ? 

Thou  say'st,  ^^All  sinners  will   I  burn  with  fire." 
Say  that  to  strangers,  we  know  Thee  too  well. 


204.     N. 


205. 

O  comrades  dear,  when  hither  ye  repair 

In  times  to  come,  communion  sweet  to  share, 

While  the  cupbearer  pours  your  old  Magh  wine, 
Call  poor  Khayyam  to  mind,  and  breathe  a  prayer. 

205      L.  N.  B.     Mayi.     The  second  ya  is  the  ya  i  batni. 


200. 

For  me  heaven's  sphere  no  music  ever  made, 
Nor  yet  with  soothing  voice  my  fears  allayed; 

If  e'er   I   found  brief  respite  from  my  woes, 
Back  to  woe's  thrall  I  was  at  once  betrayed. 

206.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I. 


207. 

Sooner  with  half  a  loaf  contented  be, 
And  water  from  a  broken  crock,  like  me. 

Than  lord  it  over  one  poor  fellow-man. 
Or  to  another  bow  the  vassal  knee. 

207.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.     In  line  2  note  izafat   dropped    after   silent   he, 
Kam  az  Khtide,  <<one  less  than  yourself. »     Vullers,  p.  25^.. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  193 


208. 


While  Moon  and  Venus  in  the  sky  shall  dwell, 
None  shall  see  aught  red  grape- juice  to  excel: 

O  foolish  publicans,   what  can  you  buy 
One  half  so  precious  as  the  goods  you  sell  ? 


208.    C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I 


209. 

'They  who  by  genius,  and  by  power  of  brain, 
The  rank  of  man's  enlighteners  attain, 

Not  even  they  emerge  from  this  dark  night, 
But  tell  their  dreams,  and  fall  asleep  again. 

209.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     Fisanaye,  ya  i  tankir. 


210. 

At  dawn,  when  dews  bedeck  the  tulip's  face, 
And  violets  their  heavy  heads  abase, 

I  love  to  see  the  roses'  folded  buds. 
With  petals  closed  against  the  wind's  disgrace. 

210.    L.  B. 


211. 

Like  as  the  skies  rain  down  sweet  jessamine, 
And  sprinkle  all  the  meads  with  eglantine, 

Right  so,  from  out  this  jug  of  violet  hue, 
I  pour  in  lily  cups  this  rosy  wine. 

B.  Here  read  inayi,  with  one  ya,  and  kasra,  because  the 
metre  requires  a  word  of  only  two  consonants,  and  two 
short  vowels,  of  the  ivazn  mafa. 

13 


194  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


212. 

Ah '  thou  hast  snared  this  head,  though  white  as  snow, 
Which  oft  has  vowed  the  wine-cup  to  forego; 

And  wrecked  the  mansion  long  resolve  did  build, 
And  rent  the  vesture  penitence  did  sew! 

212.     B.     Nabid  is  often  written  nabiz,  probably  a  survival  from  the 
time  when  dais  were  dotted.     Bl.,    Prosody  17. 


213- 

I  am  not  one  whom  Death  doth  much  dismay. 
Life's  terrors  all  Death's  terrors  far  outweigh; 

This  life,  that  Heaven  hath  lent  me  for  a  while, 
I  will  pay  back,  when  it  is  time  to  pay. 

213.     C.  L.  A.  B.  I.     B.  reads  nim  for  bim  in  line  2. 


214. 

The  stars,  who  dwell  on  heaven's  exalted  stage. 
Baffle  the  wise  diviners  of  our  age; 

Take  heed,  hold  fast  the  rope  of  mother  wit. 
These  augurs  all  distrust  their  own  presage. 

214.     L.  B.     A  hit  at  the  astrologers. 


215. 

The  people  who  the  heavenly  world  adorn, 
Who  come  each  night,  and  go  away  each  morn, 

Now  on   Heaven's  skirt,  and  now  in  earth's  deep 
pouch. 
While  Allah  lives,  shall  aye  anew  be  born ! 

315.     L.   B.     Earth's  pouch,    i.e.,    « beneath    the    earth. »     Re z aye.   L, 
reads  did  aye.     Both  readings  are  probably  wrong. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD 


216.- 


195 


Slaves  of  vain  wisdom  and  philosophy, 
Who  toil  at  Being  and  Nonentity, 

Parching  your  brains  till  they  are  like  dry  grapes, 
Be  wise  in  time,  and  drink  grape- juice,  like  me! 

216.     B.     The  vanity  of  learning. 


217. 

Sense,  seeking  happiness,  bids  us  pursue 
All  present  joys,  and  present  griefs  eschew; 

She  says,  we  are  not  as  the  meadow  grass, 
Which,  when  they  mow  it  down,  springs  up  anew. 

217.  C.  L.  A.  B.  I.  J.  Goyid,  from  goyidan.  Yaimaksur  followed 
by  another  ya  is  in  Persian  words  always  hamzated 
(Lumsden,  i.  29;  Vullers,  p.  24) ;  and  this  hamza  i  maksur 
is  pronounced  ye.     Ibrahim,  Grammar,  p.  24. 


2X8. 

Now  Ramazan  is  past,  Shawwal  comes  back, 
And  feast  and  song  and  joy  no  more  we  lack; 

The  wine-skin  carriers  throng  the  streets  and  cry, 
"  Here  comes  the  porter  with  his  precious  pack.  '* 

218.     B.     I  incline  to  read  pusht  bast  for  pusht  pusht,  which  I  do 
not  understand. 


219. 

My  comrades  all  are  gone;  Death,  deadly  foe, 
Has  caught  them  one  by  one,  and  trampled  low; 

They  shared  life's  feast,  and  drank  its  wine  with  me, 
But  lost  their  heads,  and  dropped  a  while  ago. 

219.     C.  L.  A.  I.     Quoted  by  Badauni,  ii.   159. 


196       QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 


220. 

Those  hj'pocrites,  all  know  so  well,  who  lurk 
In  streets  to  beg  their  bread,   and  will  not  work. 

Claim  to  be  saints,  like  Shibli  and  Junaid, 
No  Shiblis  are  they,  though  well  known  in  Karkh! 

C.  L.  A.  I.  L.  Reads  bakahna  namad,  but  the  line  will  not 
scan  with  that  reading.  Line  4  is  in  metre  9.  A  saint 
called  Ma'ruf  i  Karkhi,  « the  famed  one  of  Karkh, >^  is 
mentioned  in  the  Nafahat  ul  L'ns.  Karkh  was  a  suburb 
of  Bagdad. 


"When  the  great  Founder  moulded  me  of  old, 
He  mixed  much  baser  metal  with  my  gold; 

Better  or  fairer  I  can  never  be 
Than  I  first  issued  from  his  heavenly  mould. 

221.     C.   L.  A.  L 


The  joyous  souls  who  quaff  potations  deep. 
And  saints  who  in  the  mosques  sad  vigils  keep, 

Are  lost  at  sea  alike,   and  find  no  shore, 
ONE  only  wakes,  all  others  are  asleep. 

222.     L.  B.     One,  t'.f.,  the  Deity. 


223- 

Not-being's  water  served  to  mix  my  clay, 
And  on  my  heart  grief's  fire  doth  ever  prey. 

And  blown  am  I  like  wind  about  the  world. 
And  last  my  crumbling  earth  is  swept  away. 

223.     L.     This   introduction   of  the   four   elements    in  one  quatrain  is 
called  Mutazadd.     Gladwin,  p.  60. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  197 


224. 


Small  gains  to  learning  on  this  earth  accrue, 
They  pluck  life's  fruitage,   learning  who  eschew; 
Take  pattern  by  the  fools  who  learning  shun, 
And  then  perchance  shall  fortune   smile  on  you. 

224.     C.  L.  A.  I.    Bu  contracted  from  buzad 


225. 

When  the  fair  soul  this  mansion  doth  vacate, 
Each  element  assumes  its  primal  state, 
And  all  the  silken  furniture  of  life 
Is  then  dismantled  by  the  blows  of  fate. 

225.     C.  L.  A.  I.     Abresham  tab\  like  Hatim  tab\ 


226. 

These  people  string  their  beads  of  learned  lumber, 
And  tell  of  Allah  stories  without  number; 
Yet  never  solve   the   riddle  of  the  skies, 
But  wag  the  chin,   and  get  them  back  to  slumber. 

226.     Possibly  a  hit  at  the  Mutakallamin,  or   scholastic   theologians. 


227. 

These  folk  are  asses,   laden  with  conceit, 

And  glittering  drums,  that  empty  sounds  repeat. 

And  humble  slaves  are  they  of  name  and  fame, 
Acquire  a  name,   and,   lo!  they  kiss  thy  feet. 

227.  C,  L.  A.  I.  Ba  afsos  is  an  epithet,  like  ba  khabar,  and  hence 
kharan,  the  noun  qualified  by  it,  takes  the  izafat.  Lums- 
den,  ii.  259.  Pur  mask'ala,  "full  of  glitter »;  compare 
pur  ntae  in  No.   179. 


198  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


228. 


On  the  dread  day  of  final  scrutiny 
Thou  wilt  be  rated  by  thy  quality; 

Get  wisdom  and  fair  qualities  to-day, 
For,  as  thou  art,  requited  wilt  thou  be. 

228.    C.  L.  A.  I. 


329. 

Many  fine  heads,   like  bowls,  the  Brazier  made. 
And  thus  his  own  similitude  portrayed; 

He  set  one  upside  down  above  our  heads. 
Which  keeps  us  all  continually  afraid. 

329.     C.  L,  A.  I.     «  One  upside  down,»  /.  <?.,  the  sky.   Kansa  is  also 
spelled  kasa. 


230. 

My  true  condition  I  may  thus  explain 

In  two  short  verses  which  the  whole  contain: 

**  From  love  to  Thee   I  now  lay  down  my  life, 
In  hope  Thy  love  will  raise  me  up  again.  ^* 

330.    C.   L.   A.    I.     Scan    wakiayi.     Here    hatnza    stands    for  ya  i 
tankir. 


231- 

The  heart,  like  tapers,   takes  at  beauty's  eyes 
A  flame,   and  lives  by  that  whereby  it  dies; 

And  beauty  is  a  flame  where  hearts,   like  moths, 
Offer  themselves  a  burning  sacrifice. 

231.  L.  Metre  Ramal,  No.  50.  In  line  3  the  first  syllable  is  short. 
See  Bl.,  Prosody,  p.  43.  In  this  form  the  metre  is  like 
Horace's  '•^  Miser  arum  est, ^"^  etc. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  199 


232. 


To  please  the  righteous  life  itself  I  sell, 

And,    though   they  tread   me   down,    never  rebel; 

Men   say,    ^*  Inform   us   what   and  where  is  hell  ? " 
111  company  will  make  this  earth  a  hell. 

232.     C.  L.  A.  I.    Also  ascribed  to  Hafiz. 


233- 

The  sun  doth  smite  the  roofs  with  Orient  ray 
And,   Khosrau  like,   his  wine-red  sheen  display; 

Arise,  and  drink!  the  herald  of  the  dawn 
Uplifts  his  voice,  and  cries,  *  Oh,  drink  to-day!* 

233.    C.  L.  A.  I.  J. 


234- 

Comrades!   when  e'er  you  meet  together  here, 
Recall  your  friend  to  mind,   and  drop  a  tear; 

And  when  the  circling  wine-cups  reach    his  seat, 
Pray  turn  one  upside  down  his  dust  to  cheer. 

234.     B.     A  variation  of  No.  205. 


235- 

That  grace  and  favour  at  the  first,  what  meant  it  ? 
That  lavishing  of  joy  and  peace,  what  meant  it  1 

But  now  thy  purpose  is  to  grieve  my  heart; 
What  did  I  do  to  cause  this  change  ?   What  meant  it  ? 

235.     B.     So  Job,  <<He  multiplieth  my  wounds  without  cause.* 


200  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


236. 

These  hypocrites    who  build  on  saintly  show, 
Treating  the  body  as  the  spirit's  foe, 

If  they  will  shut  their  mouths  with  lime,  like  jars, 
My  jar  of  grape-juice  I  will  then  forego. 

236.  L.  B.  B.  reads  arra,  of  which  I  can  make  no  sense.  Bar /ark 
ntham,  «I  will  put  aside »;  bar  /ark  (line  4),  «on  their 
mouths.* 


237. 

Many  have  come,  and  run  their  eager  race, 
Striving  for  pleasures,  luxuries,  or  place. 

And  quaffed  their  wine,  and  now  all  silent  lie, 
Enfolded  in  their  parent  earth's  embrace. 

237.    C.  L.  A.  I. 


238. 

Then,  when  the  good  reap  fruits  of  labours  past. 
My  hapless  lot  with  drunkards  will  be  cast; 

If  good,  may  I  be  numbered  with  the  first. 
If  bad,   find  grace  and  mercy  with  the  last. 

238.    C.  L.  A.  I. 


239- 

Of  happy  turns  of  fortune  take  your  fill. 

Seek  pleasure's  couch,  or  wine-cup,   as  you  will; 

Allah  regards  not  if  you  sin,   or  saint  it, 
So  take  your  pleasure,  be  it  good   or  ill. 

239.  C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.  Alluding  to  the  Hadts,  « These  are  in 
heaven,  and  Allah  regards  not  their  sins,  and  these  in  hell, 
and  Allah  regards  not  their  good  works. »  See  Gtclshan  i 
Raz,  p.  55. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  201 


240. 


Heaven  multiplies  our  sorrows  day  by  day, 
And  grants  no  joys  it  does  not  take  away; 

If  those  unborn  could  know  the  ills  we  bear, 
What  think  you,  would  they  rather   come  or  stay  ? 

240.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.    This  recalls   Byron's  « Stanzas  for  Music* 


241. 

Why  ponder  thus  the  future  to  foresee, 
And  jade  thy  brain  to  vain  perplexity  ? 

Cast  off  thy  care,  leave  Allah's  plans  to  him, 
He  formed  them  all  without  consulting  thee. 


241.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J, 


242. 

The  tenants  of  the  tombs  to  dust  decay. 
Nescient  of  self,   and  all  beside  are  they; 

Their  sundered  atoms  float  about  the  world, 
Like  mirage  clouds,  until  the  judgment  day. 

242.     C.  L.  N.  A.   I.  J.     In    line    4    some    MSS.    read    sharab    and 
change  the  order  of  the  lines. 


243- 

O  soul!  lay  up  all  earthly  goods  iri  store, 

Thy  mead  with  pleasure's  flowerets  spangle  o'er; 

And  know  'tis  all  as  dew,  that  decks  the  flowers 
For  one  short  night,  and  then  is  seen  no  more! 

243.     C.   L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     There  are  several  variations  of  this. 


QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 


244. 

Heed  not  the  Sunna,  nor  the  law  divine; 
If  to  the  poor  his  portion  you  assign, 

And  never  injure  one,  nor  yet  abuse, 
I  guarantee  you  heaven,  and  now  some  wine! 

244.  C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J.  See  Koran,  ii.  172:  « There  is  no  piety 
in  turning  your  faces  to  the  east  or  west,  but  he  is  pious 
who  believeth  in  God  .  .  .  and  disburseth  his  wealth 
to  the  needy,  >>  etc. 


245- 

Vexed  by  this  wheel  of  things,  that  pets  the  base, 
My  sorrow-laden  life  drags  on  apace; 

Like  rosebud,  from  the  storm  I  wrap  me  close. 
And  blood-spots  on  my  heart,  like  tulip,  trace. 


245.    N. 


246. 

Youth  is  the  time  to  pay  court  to  the  vine, 
To  quaff  the  cup,  with  revellers  to  recline; 

A  flood  of  water  once  laid  waste  the  earth. 
Hence  learn  to  lay  you  waste  with  floods  of  wine. 

246.    C.  N.  A.  I.  J.     . 


247. 

The  world  is  baffled  in  its  search  for  Thee, 
Wealth  cannot  find  Thee,  no,  nor  poverty; 

Thou'rt  very  near  us,  but  our  ears  are  deaf. 
Our  eyes  are  blinded  that  we  may  not  see ! 

247.     N.     So  Hafiz,  Ode  355  (Brockhaus):     «  How  can  our  eyes  behold 
Thee  as  Thou  art?» 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  203 


248. 

Take  care  you  never  hold  a  drinking  bout 
With  an  ill-tempered,  ill-conditioned  lout; 

He'll  make  a  vile  disturbance  all  night  long, 
And  vile  apologies  next  day,  no  doubt. 

348.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.      In   line  3   scan  badmastiyo  and  in   line  4 
Khwahiyash. 


249. 

The  starry  aspects  are  not  all  benign; 
Why  toil  then  after  vain  desires,  and  pine 

To  lade  thyself  with  load  of  fortune's  boons. 
Only  to  drop  it  with  this  life  of  thine  ? 

249.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


250. 

O  comrades!  here  is  filtered  wine,  come  drink! 
Pledge  all  your  charming  sweethearts  as  you  drink; 

'Tis  the  grape's  blood,  and  this  is  what  it  says, 
^^  To  you  I  dedicate  my  life-blood!  drink!** 

250.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


251- 

Are  you  depressed  ?  Then  take  of  bhang  one  grain, 
Of  rosy  grape-juice  take  one  pint  or  twain; 

Sufis,  you  say,  must  not  take  this  or  that, 
Then  go  and  eat  the  pebbles  off  the  plain! 

251.  N.  In  line  i  and  2  scan  yakjawaki  and  manaki,  ak  being  the 
diminutive,  and  ya  the  ya  t  tankir,  displacing  the  izafat: 
Lumsden,  ii,  269.     Bhang,  a  narcotic,  made  from  hemp. 


204  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


252. 

I  saw  a  busy  potter  by  the  way 

Kneading  with  might  and  main  a  lump  of  clay; 

And,  lo!  the  clay  cried,   "Use  me  gently,  pray; 
I  was  a  man  myself  but  yesterday!" 

252.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J.     Hal,  ecstasy. 


253. 

Oh!  wine  is  richer  that  the  realm  of  Jam, 
More  fragrant  than  the  food  of  Miriam; 

Sweeter  are  sighs  that  drunkards  heave  at  morn 
Than  strains  of  Bu  Sa'id  and  Bin  Adham. 

253.  C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.  Abu  Sa'id  Abu'l  Khair  and  Ibrahim  Bin 
Adham  are  both  mentioned  in  the  Nafahat  ul  Uns. 
« Miriam's  food. »  See  Koran,  xix.  24.  Note />«/"«/ dropped 
after  silent  he. 


254. 

Deep  in  the  rondure  of  the  heavenly  blue. 
There  is  a  cup,  concealed  from  mortals'  view. 

Which  all  must  drink  in  turn;  Oh,  sigh  not  then. 
But  drink  it  boldly,  when  it  comes  to  you! 

354.     C.  L.  A.  I.  J.    Jawr,  a  « bumper.  >> 


255- 

Though  you  should  live  to  four,  or  forty  score. 
Go  hence  you  must,  as  all  have  gone  before; 

Then,  be  you  king,  or  beggar  of  the  streets. 
They'll  rate  you  all  the  same,  no  less,  no  more. 


255-    L. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  205 


256. 


If  you  seek  Him,  abandon  child  and  wife, 
Arise,  and  sever  all  these  ties  to  life; 

All  these  are  bonds  to  check  you  on  your  course. 
Arise,  and  cut  these  bonds,  as  with  a  knife. 

256.     L.  B.     So  Gttlshan  i  Raz,  1.  944. 


257. 

O  heart!  this  world  is  but  a  fleeting-  show. 
Why  should  its  empty  griefs  distress  thee  so  ? 

Bow  down,  and  bear  thy  fate,  the  eternal  pen 
Will  not  unwrite  its  roll  for  thee,   I  trow! 

257.     L.  N.  B.     The  «  pen  »  is  that  with  which  Allah  writes  his  decrees. 


258. 

Who  e'er  returned  of  all  that  went  before. 
To  tell  of  that  long  road  they  travel  o'er  ? 

Leave  naught  undone  of  what  you  have  to  do, 
For  when  you  go,  you  will  return  no  more. 

258.     C.  N.  L.  A.  I.  J.     Amadaye,  ya  i  tankir. 


259. 

Dark  wheel!  how  many  lovers  thou  hast  slain, 
Like  Mahmud  and  Ayaz,   O  inhumane! 

Come,  let  us  drink,  thou  grantest  not  two  lives. 
When  one  is  spent,  we  find  it  not  again. 

259.     L.  N.     Mahmud,  the  celebrated  king  of  Ghazni,  and  Ayaz  his 
favourite.     Scan  wayaz  {alzf  i  wasl). 


2o6  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


260. 

Illustrious  Prophet!  whom  all  kings  obey, 
When  is  our  darkness  lightened  by  wine's  ray  ? 

On  Sunday,   Monday,  Tuesday,  Wednesday,  Thurs- 
day, 
Friday,  and  Saturday,  both  night  and  day! 

260.  C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.  The  jim  in  panjshamba  is  dropped  in  scan- 
ning. See  Bl.,  Prosody,  p.  10.  In  line  4  note  silent  he  in 
shauba  scanned  long  as  well  as  short. 


261. 

O  turn  away  those  roguish  eyes  of  thine! 
Be  still!  seek  not  my  peace  to  undermine! 

Thou  say'st,   "Look  not.*^     I  might  as  well  essay 
To  slant  my  goblet,  and  not  spill  my  wine. 

261.     N.     Line  4,  a  proverb  denoting  an  impossibility. 


262. 

In  taverns  better  far  commune  with  Thee, 

Than  pray  in  mosques,  and  fail  Thy  face  to  see! 

O  first  and  last  of  all  Thy  creatures  Thou, 
'Tis  Thine  to  burn,  and  Thine  to  cherish  me! 

062.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J.    This  is  clearly  an   address   to  the  Deity. 


263. 

To  wise  and  worthy  men  your  life  devote. 
But  from  the  worthless  keep  your  walk  remote; 

Dare  to  take  poison  from  a  sage's  hand. 
But  from  a  fool  refuse  an  antidote. 

263.     L.  N.     Line  1  is  in  metre  17. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  207 


264. 


I  flew  here,  as  a  bird  from  the  wild,  in  aim 
Up  to  a  higher  nest  my  course  to  frame; 

But,  finding  here  no  guide  who  knows  the  way. 
Fly  out  by  the  same  door  where  through  I  came. 

264.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


265. 

He  binds  us  in  resistless  Nature's  chain, 
And  yet  bids  us  our  natures  to  restrain; 

Between  these  counter  rules  we  stand  perplexed, 
"  Hold  the  jar  slant,  but  all  the  wine  retain.  *^ 

265.     L.  N.      In  line  3  scan  nahyash.      So    Lord  Brooke   in  «Musta- 
pha^^;  Ward's  English  Poets,  i.  370. 


266. 

They  go  away,  and  none  is  seen  returning, 
To  teach  that  other  world's  recondite  learning; 

'Twill  not  be  shown  for  dull  mechanic  prayers, 
For  prayer  is  naught  without  true  heartfelt  yearning. 

266.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.     The  formal  prayers  of    Moslems  are  rather  as- 
criptions of  praise,  and  repetitions  of  texts,  than  petitions. 


267. 

Go  to!     Cast  dust  on  those  deaf  skies,  who  spurn 
Thy  orisons  and  bootless  prayers,  and  learn 

To  quaff  the  cup,  and  hover  round  the  fair; 
Of  all  who  go,  did  ever  one  return  ? 

367.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J.     An  answer  to  the  last. 


2o9  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


268. 

Though  Khayyam  strings  no  pearls  of  righteous  deeds, 
Nor  sweeps  from  off  his  soul  sin's  noisome  weeds, 

Yet  will  he  not  despair  of  heavenly  grace, 
Seeing  that  one  as  two  he  ne'er  misreads. 

268.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J.     Tauhid,  or  Unitarianism,  is  the  central  doc- 
trine of  Islam.     So  Hafiz,  Ode  465. 


269. 

Again  to  tavern  haunts  do  we  repair. 

And  say  ** Adieu"  to  the  five  hours  of  prayer; 

Where'er  we  see  a  long-necked  flask  of  wine, 
We  elongate  our  necks  that  wine  to  share. 

269.  C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J.  Takbir,  or  tekbir  the  formula  *-'- Allah 
akbar,f*  in  saying  which  the  mind  should  be  abstracted 
from  worldly  thoughts;  hence  « renunciation."     See  Nicolas. 


270. 

We  are  but  chessmen,  destined,  it  is  plain, 
That  great  chess-player,  Heaven,  to  entertain; 

It  moves  us  on  life's  chess-board  to  and  fro, 
And  then  in  death's  dark  box  shuts  up  again. 

370.     L.  N.  B.    Hakikati,  see  Bl.,  Prosody  3. 


271. 

You  ask  what  is  this  life  so  frail,  so  vain, 
'Tis  long  to  tell,  yet  will  I  make  it  plain; 

'Tis  but  a  breath  blown  from  the  vasty  deeps, 
And  then  blown  back  to  those  same  deeps  again! 

271.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.    J.     Some   MSS.  read  naksh.     Deeps,  /.  e.,  the 
ocean  of  Not-being. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  209 


272. 

To-day  to  heights  of  rapture  have  I  soared, 
Yea,  and  with  drunken  Maghs  pure  wine  adored; 

I  am  become  beside  myself,   and  rest 
In  that  pure  temple,   ^^Am  not  I  your  Lord  ?  '^ 

272.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     Alasto  birabbikum,  Allah's  words  to  Adam's 
sons:  Koran  vii.  171.     So  in  Hafiz,  Ode  43  (Brockhaus). 


273- 

My  queen  (long  may  she  live  to  vex  her  slave!) 
To-day  a  token  of  affection  gave, 

Darting  a  kind  glance  from  her  eyes,   she  passed, 
And  said,   ^^  Do  good  and  cast  it  on  the  wave !  '* 

273.     L.  N.     Meaning,  hope  not  for  a  return  to  your  love.     Nekuyey^ 
*a  good  act.^^/a  conjunctive  a.nd_ya  i  tankir.  Vullers,  p.  250. 


f      274. 

I  put  my  lips  to  the  cup,  for  I  did  yearn 
The  hidden  cause  of  length  of  days  to  learn; 

He  leaned  his  lip  to  mine,   and  whispered  low, 
*^  Drink !  for,   once  gone,  you  never  will  return.  * 

274.     C.  L.  A.  B.  I.  J.     Some  MSS.  give  line  4  differently. 


275- 

"We  lay  in  the  cloak  of  Naught,  asleep  and  still, 
Thou  said'st,  ^*  Awake !   taste  the  world's  good  and  ill  " : 

Here  we  are  puzzled  by  Thy  strange  command, 
From  slanted  jars  no  single  drop  to  spill. 

275.     L.     Naught,  /.  <?.,  Not-being.     See  note  to  No.  183. 


QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 


276. 

O  Thou  I  who  know'st  the  secret  thoughts  of  all. 
In  time  of  sorest  need  who  aidest  all, 

Grant  me  repentance,  and  accept  my  plea, 
O  Thou  who  dost  accept  the  pleas  of  all! 

276.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     Note  tashdid  on  rabb  dropped. 


277. 

I  saw  a  bird  perched  on  the  walls  of  Tus, 
Before  him  lay  the  skull  of  Kai  Kawus, 

And  thus  he  made  his  moan,   *^  Alas,  poor  king-! 
Thy  drums  are  hushed,  thy  'larums  have  rung  truce.  ^^ 

277.     C.  L.  N.  A.     Tus  was  near  Nishapur. 


278. 

Ask  not  the  chances  of  the  time  to  be, 
And  for  the  past,    'tis  vanished,   as  you  see; 

This  ready-money  breath  set  down  as  gain. 
Future  and  past  concern  not  you  or  me. 

278.     C.   L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     In  line  i  note  i::afat  dropped  after  silent  he. 
Compare  Horace's  Ode  to  Leuconoe. 


279. 

What  launched  that  golden  orb  his  course  to  run, 
What  wrecks  his  firm  foundations,   when  'tis  done, 

No  man  of  science  ever  weighed  with  scales, 
Nor  made  assay  with  touchstone,  no,   not  one! 

279.     L.     The  vanity  of  science. 


SCrFI  MYSTICS   GATHERED  FOR  MEDITATION 
From  an  old  painting  by  a  Pushtu  artist 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  211 


280. 

I  pray  thee  to  my  counsel  lend  thine  ear, 
Cast  off  this  false  hypocrisy's  veneer; 

This  life  a  moment  is,  the  next  all  time, 
Sell  not  eternity  for  earthly  gear! 

280.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.     Note  ra  separated  from  its  noun,  as  before. 
VuUers,  p.   173. 


281. 

Ofttimes  I  plead  my  foolishness  to  Thee, 
My  heart  contracted  with  perplexity; 

I  gird  me  with  the  Magian  zone,   and  why  ? 
For  shame  so  poor  a  Musulman  to  be. 

281.     C.  L.   N.  A.  I.  J.     In    line     i     scan    nadaniyi,    dissolving    the 
long  ya. 


282. 

Khayyam!  rejoice  that  wine  you  still  can  pour. 
And  still  the  charms  of  tulip  cheeks  adore; 

You'll  soon  not  be,  rejoice  then  that  you  are. 
Think  how  'twould  be  in  case  you  were  no  more! 

283.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J. 


283. 

Once,  in  a  potter's  shop,  a  company 

Of  cups  in  converse  did  I  chance  to  see. 

And  lo!  one  lifted  up  his  voice,  and  cried, 
« Who  made,  who  sells,  who  buys  this  crockery  ? » 

283.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J.     Men's  speculations. 


212  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


284. 

Last  night,  as  I  reeled  from  the  tavern  door, 
I  saw  a  sage,   who  a  great  wine-jug  bore; 

I  said,   '^  O  Shaikh,  have  you  no  shame  ?  **  Said  he, 
^*  Allah  hath  boundless  mercy  in  his  store.  ^^ 

284.  C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.  Sar  mast,  a  compound,  hence  izafat  omitted. 
Saboyey,  kamza  (for  conjunctive /a)  followed  "by  ya  z  tankzr. 
See  Lumsden,  ii.  269. 


285. 

Life's  fount  is  wine,   Khizir  its  guardian, 
I,  like  Elias,   find  it  where  I  can; 

'Tis  sustenance  for  heart  and  spirit  too, 
Allah  himself  calls  wine  "a  boon  to  man." 

285.     C.  L.  N.  A.   I.  J.     Koran,  ii.  216.     Elias   discovered    the  water 
of  life. 


286. 

Though  wine  is  banned,  yet  drink,  for  ever  drink! 
By  day  and  night,  with  strains  of  music  drink! 

Where'er  thou  lightest  on  a  cup  of  wine, 
Spill  just  one  drop,  and  take  the  rest  and  drink! 

286.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     To  spill  a  drop  is  a  sign  of  liberality. —  Nicolas. 


287. 

Although  the  creeds  number  some  seventy-three, 
I  hold  with  none  but  that  of  loving  Thee; 

What  matter  faith,  unfaith,  obedience,  sin  ? 
Thou'rt  all  we  need,  the  rest  is  vanity. 

287.     N.     See  note   on  Quatrain  194.     Forms  of  faith  are  indifferent. 
See  Culshan  t  Raz,  p.  83. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  213 


Tell  one  by  one  my  scanty  virtues  o'er; 
As  for  my  sins,  forgive  them  by  the  score; 

Let  not  my  faults  kindle  Thy  wrath  to  flame; 
By  blest  Muhammad's  tomb,  forgive  once  more! 

288.  L.N.  B.  Rasul-ullah:  the  construction  being  Arabic,  izafat 
is  needed.  Lumsden,  ii.  p.  251.  Also  ascribed  to  Zahir 
ud-din  Faryabi. 


289. 

Grieve  not  at  coming  ill,  you  can't  defeat  it, 
And  what  far-sighted  person  goes  to  meet  it  ? 
Cheer  up!  bear  not  about  a  world  of  grief. 
Your  fate  is  fixed,  and  grieving  will  not  cheat  it. 

289.     L.     Line  2  is  a  question. 


290. 

There  is  a  chalice  made  with  wit  profound. 
With  tokens  of  the  Maker's  favour  crowned; 

Yet  the  world's  Potter  takes  his  masterpiece, 
And  dashes  it  to  pieces  on  the  ground! 

290.     C.  L.  A.  I.  J.     So  Job,  « Is  it  good  unto  Thee  that  Thou  shouldest 
despise  the  labour  of  Thine  hands  ?» 


291. 

In  truth  wine  is  a  spirit  thin  as  air, 

A  limpid  soul  in  the  cup's  earthen  ware; 

No  dull,  dense  person  shall  be  friend  of  mine 
Save  wine-cups,  which  are  dense  and  also  rare. 

291.     L.  N.  B.     Layik     .     .     .     man:  izafat  omitted  because   of  the 
intervening  words.     Lumsden,  ii.  250. 


214  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


292. 

O  wheel  of  heaven!  no  ties  of  bread  you  feel, 
No  ties  of  salt,  you  flay  me  like  an  eel! 

A  woman's  wheel  spins  clothes  for  man  and  wife, 
It  does  more  good  than  you,  O  heavenly  wheel! 

292.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


293. 

Did  no  fair  rose  my  paradise  adorn, 

I  would  make   shift  to  deck  it  with  a  thorn; 

And  if   I  lacked  my  prayer-mats,  beads,  and  Shaikh, 
Those   Christian  bells  and  stoles   I  would  not  scorn. 

293.  C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  (under  Te).  Line  2  is  omitted  in  the  transla- 
tion. So  Pope,  «For  forms  and  creeds  let  graceless  zealots 
fight. » 


294. 

**  If  heaven  deny  me  peace  and  fame,^*   I  said, 
*  Let  it  be  open  war  and  shame  instead ; 

The  man  who  scorns  bright  wine  had  best  beware, 
I'll  arm  me  with  a  stone,  and  break  his  head!* 

294.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


295- 

See!  the  dawn  breaks,  and  rends  night's  canopy: 
Arise !  and  drain  a  morning  draught  with  me ! 

Away  with  gloom !  full  many  a  dawn  will  break 
Looking  for  us,  and  we  not  here  to  see! 

295.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     Btsyar,  « frequently. » 


296. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  215 


296. 

O  you  who  tremble  not  at  fires  of  hell, 
Nor  wash  in  water  of  remorse's  well, 

When  winds  of  death  shall  quench  your  vital  torch. 
Beware  lest  earth  your  guilty  dust  expel. 

L.     Possibly  written    by    some   pious   reader    as   an   answer  to 
Khayyam's  scoffs.     See  note  on  Quatrain  223. 


297. 

This  world  a  hollow  pageant  you  should  deem; 
All  wise  men  know  things  are  not  what  they  seem; 

Be  of  good  cheer,  and  drink,  and  so  shake  off 
This  vain  illusion  of  a  baseless  dream. 

297.     L.  N.     All  earthly  existence  is  «-Ma/a.^^ 


298. 

With  maids  stately  as  cypresses,  and  fair 

As  roses  newly  plucked,  your  wine-cups  share. 

Or  e'er  Death's  blasts  shall  rend  your  robe  of  flesh 
Like  yonder  rose  leaves,  lying  scattered  there! 

298      C.  L.  N.  I.  J.     The  Lucknow  commentator  says  daman  i  gul 
means  the  maid's  cheek. 


299. 

Cast  off  dull  care,  O  melancholy  brother! 

Woo  the  sweet  daughter  of  the  grape,  no  other; 

The  daughter  is  forbidden,   it  is  true. 
But  she  is  nicer  than  her  lawful  mother! 

299.     N.     « Daughter   of   the   grape,»  /...,    wine,  a   translation  of  an 
Arabic  phrase. 


2i6  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


300. 

My  love  shone  forth,  and  I  was  overcome, 

My  heart  was  speaking,   but  my  tongue  was  dumb; 

Beside  the  water-brooks  I  died  of  thirst. 
Was  ever  known  so  strange  a  martyrdom  ? 

300.     N.     Dil    rub  aye,    <*that    well-known    charmer. »     Lumsden,    ii. 
142.     Pur  sukhan.     See  note  on  No.  227. 


301. 

Give  me  my  cup  in  hand,  and  sing  a  glee 
In  concert  with  the  bulbul's  symphony; 

Wine  would  not  gurgle  as  it  leaves  the  flask, 
If  drinking  mute  were  right  for  thee  and  me  I 

301.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


302. 

The  «  Truth"  will  not  be  shown  to  lofty  thought, 
Nor  yet  with  lavished  gold  may  it  be  bought; 

But,  if  you  yield  your  life  for  fifty  years, 
From  words  to  ^*  states  "  you  may  perchance  be  brought. 

302.  L.  Line  3,  literally,  « Unless  you  dig  up  your  soul,  and  eat 
blood  for  fifty  years."  « States'^  of  ecstatic  union  with  the 
«Truth,»  or  Deity  of  the  Mystics. 


303- 

i  solved  all  problems,  down  from  Saturn's  wreath 
Unto  this  lowly  sphere  of  earth  beneath. 

And  leapt  out  free  from  bonds  of  fraud  and  lies, 
Yea,  every  knot  was  loosed,  save  that  of  death! 

303.    C.  L.  A.  I.  J. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  217 


304. 


Peace!  the  eternal  ^*  Has  been*  and  **  To  be* 
Pass  man's  experience,  and  man's  theory; 

In  joyful  seasons  naught  can  vie  with  wine, 
To  all  these  riddles  wine  supplies  the  key! 

304.    C.  L.  A.  B.  I.  J. 


305- 

Allah,  our  Lord,  is  merciful,  though  just; 
Sinner!  despair  not,  but  His  mercy  trust! 

For  though  to-day  you  perish  in  your  sins, 
To-morrow  He'll  absolve  your  crumbling  dust. 

305.      C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     A  very  Voltairean  quatrain. 


306. 

Your  course  annoys  me,  O  ye  wheeling  skies! 
Unloose  me  from  your  chain   of  tyrannies! 

If  none  but  fools  your  favours  may  enjoy, 
Then  favour  me, —  I  am  not  very  wise! 

306.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


307- 

O  City  Mufti,  you  go  more  astray 

Than  I  do,   though  to  wine  I  do  give  way; 

I  drink  the  blood  of  grapes,  you  that  of  men: 
Which  of  us  is  the  more  bloodthirsty,  pray  ? 

307.     C.  L.  N    A.  I.  J.     Alluding  to  the  selling  of  justice  by  Muftis. 


2i8       QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 


308. 

'Tis  well  to  drink,   and  leave  anxiety 
For  what  is  past,   and  what  is  yet  to  be; 
Our  prisoned  spirits,   lent  us  for  a  day, 
A  while  from  season's  bondage  shall  go  free! 

308.     C.  L,  N.  A.   I.  J.     ' Ariyati  rawan,  «this  borrowed  soul.* 


309- 

When  Khayyam  quittance   at  Death's   hand  receives, 
And  sheds  his  outworn  life,   as  trees  their  leaves, 

Full  gladly  will  he  sift  this  world  away, 
Ere  dustmen  sift  his  ashes  in  their  sieves. 

309.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


(  310. 

This  wheel  of  heaven,  which  makes  us  all  afraid, 
I  liken  to  a  lamp's  revolving  shade, 

The  sun  the  candlestick,   the  earth  the  shade. 
And  men  the  trembling  forms  thereon  portrayed. 

310.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.     Fanus  i  khiyal,  a  magic  or  Chinese  lantern. 


3". 

Who  was  it  that  did  mix  my  clay  ?     Not  I. 
Who  spun  my  web  of  silk  and  wool  ?     Not  I. 
Who  wrote  upon  my  forehead  all  my  good. 
And  all  my  evil  deeds  ?     In  truth  not  I. 

311.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.     In  line  2  rhyme  shows  the  word  to  be  rishtat, 
not  rushtai. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  219 


312. 


O  let  us  not  forecast  to-morrow's  fears, 

But  count  to-day  as  gain,   my  brave  compeers! 

,  To-morrow  we  shall  quit  this  inn,   and  march 
With    comrades   who   have   marched   seven    thousand 
years. 

312.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     Badauni  (ii.  337)   says  the  creation  of  Adam 
was  7000  years  before  his  time.     Compare  Hafiz,  Ruba't  10. 


Ne'er  for  one  moment  leave  your  cup  unused! 
Wine  keeps  heart,   faith,   and  reason  too,  amused; 

Had  Iblis  swallowed  but  a  single  drop, 
To  worship  Adam  he  had  ne'er  refused! 

313.     C.  L.   (in  part)  N.  A.  I.  J.     See  Koran,  ii.  31. 


314- 

Come,   dance!  while  we  applaud  thee,  and  adore 
Thy  sweet  Narcissus  eyes,  and  grape- juice  pour; 

A  score  of  cups  is  no  such  great  affair, 
But  'tis  enchanting  when  we  reach  three  score! 

314.     N.     Narcissus  eyes,  i.e.,  languid. 


315- 

I  close  the  door  of  hope  in  my  own  face. 
Nor  sue  for  favours  from  good  men,  or  base; 

I  have  but  ONE  to  lend  a  helping  hand, 
He  knows,  as  well  as  I,  my  sorry  case. 

315.     C.  L.  N.  A,   1,  1.     A   *■*■  Haliya^^  quatrain,  lamenting  his    own 
condition. 


QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 


316. 

Ah!  by  these  heavens,   that  ever  cirding  run, 
And  by  my  own  base  lusts  I  am  undone. 

Without  the  wit  to  abandon  worldly  hopes, 
And  wanting  sense  the  world's  allures  to  shun! 

316.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


317- 

On  earth's  green  carpet  many  sleepers  lie. 
And  hid  beneath  it  others  I  descry; 

And  others,  not  yet  come,  or  passed  away. 
People  the  desert  of  Nonentity! 

317.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     The    sleepers  on  the   earth    are    those   sunk 
in  the  sleep  of  superstition  and  ignorance. 


318. 

Sure  of  Thy  grace,  for  sins  why  need  I  fear  ? 
How  can  the  pilgrim  faint  whilst  Thou  art  near? 

On  the  last  day  Thy  grace  will  wash  me  white, 
And  make  my  "  black  record  **  to  disappear. 

318.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     Lumsden,  ii.  72.     See  Koran,  xiii.  47. 


319- 

Think  not  I   dread  from  out  the  world  to  hie, 
And  see  my  disembodied  spirit  fly; 

I  tremble  not  at  death,  for  death  is  true, 
'Tis  my  ill  life  that  makes  me  fear  to  die! 

319.  C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.  « Death  is  true,"  i.e.,  a  certainty.  So  Sir 
Philip  Sidney  (after  M.  Aurelius),  «  Since  Nature's  works  be 
good,  and  death  doth  serve  as  Nature's  work,  why  should 
we  fear  to  die  ?  ^* 


E.   H.  WHINFIELD  221 


320. 

Let  us  shake  off  dull  reason's  incubus, 
Our  tale  of  days  or  years   cease   to  discuss, 

And  take  our  jugs,  and  plenish  them   with  wine, 
Or  e'er  grim  potters  make  their  jugs  of  us! 

320.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J. 


321. 

How  much   more   wilt  thou   chide,  O   raw  divine, 
For  that   I   drink,  and  am   a   libertine  ? 

Thou  hast  thy  weary  beads,  and   saintly   show, 
Leave  me  my  cheerful  sweetheart,  and  my  wine! 

321.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


322. 

Against  my  lusts  I  ever  war,  in  vain, 

I   think  on    my  ill  deeds  with  shame  and  pain; 

I  trust  Thou  wilt  assoil  me  of  my  sins. 
But  even  so,  my  shame  must  still  remain. 

323.    C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I. 


323- 

In  these  twin  compasses,  O   Love,  you  see 
One  body  with  two  heads,  like  ^'•ou  and   me, 

Which  wander  round  one  centre,  circlewise. 
But  at  the  last  in  one   same  point  agree. 

323.  C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  Mr.  Fitzgerald  quotes  a  similar  figure  used  by 
the  poet  Donne,  for  which  see  ^^''ard's  « English  Poets,»  i. 
562.     The  two  heads  are  the  points  of  the  compasses. 


222  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


324- 

We  shall  not  stay  here  long,  but  while  we  do, 
'Tis  folly  wine  and  sweethearts  to  eschew; 
Why  ask  if  earth  etern  or  transient  be  ? 
Since  you  must  go,  it  matters  not  to  you. 

324.    C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J. 


325- 

In  reverent  sort  to  mosque  I  wend  my  way, 
But,  by  great  Allah,  it  is  not  to  pray; 

No!  but  to    steal  a  prayer-mat!     When   'tis  worn, 
I  go  again,   another  to  purvey. 

325.  C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J.  To  "steal  a  prayer-mat >>  is  to  pray  to  be 
seen  of  men.  —  Nicolas.  A  satire  on  some  hypocrite,  perhaps 
himself. 


326. 

No  more  let  fate's  annoys  our  peace  consume. 
But  let  us  rather  rosy  wine  consume; 

The  world  our    murderer   is,   and  wine  its  blood, 
Shall  we  not  then  that  murderer's  blood  consume  ? 

326.    L.  N.    See  Koran,  ii.  187. 


327. 

For  Thee  I  vow  to  cast  repute  away. 
And,    if  I   shrink,    the   penalty  to  pay; 

Though  life  might  satisfy  Thy  cruelty, 
'Twere  naught,   I'll  bear  it  till  the  judgment-day! 

327     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  223 


328. 

In  Being's  rondure  do  we  stray  belated, 
Our  pride  of  manhood  humbled  and  abated; 

Would   we  were    gone!  long   since  have   we   been 
wearied 
With  this  world's  griefs,  and  with  its  pleasures  sated. 


328.    L.  N. 


329- 

The  world  is  false,  so  I'll  be  false  as  well, 
And  with  bright  wine,  and  gladness  ever  dwell! 

They  say,   "  May  Allah  grant  thee  penitence !  * 
He  grants  it  not,  and,   did  he,   I'd  rebel! 

329.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J.     A  pun  in  the  original. 


330- 

When  Death  shall  tread  me  down  upon  the  plain, 
And  pluck  my  feathers,   and  my  life-blood  drain. 
Then  mould  me  to  a  cup,   and  fill  with  wine; 
Haply  its  scent  will  make  me  breathe  again. 

330.    C.  L.  N    A.  B.  I.  J. 


33^' 

So  far  as  this  world's  dealings  I  have  traced, 
I  find  its  favours  shamefully  misplaced; 

Allah  be  praised!   I  see  myself  debarred 
From  all  its  boons,  and  wrongfully  disgraced. 

331.  C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  'Alam  hama,  etc.,  «  states  entirely  gratuitous.^ 
Write  bar  an  without  a  madd.  Bl.,  Prosody,  p.  11.  Com- 
pare Shakespeare,  Sonnet  66. 


224  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


332. 

*Tis  dawn!  my  heart  with  wine  I  will  recruit, 
And  dash  to  bits  the  glass  of  good  repute ; 

My  long-extending  hopes  I  will  renounce, 
And  grasp  long  tresses,  and  the  charming  lute. 


332- 


L.  N.  B. 


333- 

Though  I  had  sinned  the  sins  of  all  mankind, 
I  know  Thou  would'st  to  mercy  be  inclined; 

Thou  sayest,    ^^  I  will  help  in  time  of  need  '* 
One  needier  than   I  where  wilt  Thou  find  ? 

333.  C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.  The  waw  in  'a/"w  is  a  consonant,  and  there- 
fore takes  kasra  for  the  izafat,  without  the  intervention  of 
conjunctive  ya. 


334- 

Am  I  a  wine-bibber  ?     What  if  I  am  ? 
Gueber  or  infidel  ?     Suppose  I  am  ? 

Each  sect  miscalls  me,  but   I  heed  them  not, 
I  am  my  own,  and,  what  I  am,  I  am. 

334.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     Zan    i   khud  for  azan    i   khtid,  «my   own 
property.  '^ 


335- 

All  my  life  long  from  drink  I  have  not  ceased. 
And  drink   I  will   to-night  on   Kadr's   feast; 

And  throw  my  arms  about  the  wine-jar's  neck. 
And  kiss  its  lip,    and   clasp  it  to   my   breast! 

335.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     Kadr,  the  night  of  power.     Koran,  xcvi.  i. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  225 


336' 

I  know  what  is,  and  what  is  not,  I  know 
The  lore  of  things  above,  and  things  below; 
But  all  this  lore  will  cheerfully  renounce, 
If  one  a  higher  grade  than  drink  can  show. 

336.     L.  N.  B.     Line  i,  Being  and  Not-being,  «Grade,>>  i.e.,  of  learn- 
ing. 


337. 

Though  I  drink  wine,  I  am  no  libertine, 
Nor  am  I  grasping,  save  of  cups  of  wine; 

I  scruple  to  adore  myself,  like  you; 
For  this  cause  to  wine-worship  I  incline. 

337.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     A  hit  at  the  vain  and  covetous  Mollas.     Also 
ascribed  to  Anwari. 


338. 

To  confidants  like  you  I  dare  to  say 
What  mankind  really  are — moulded  of  clay. 
Affliction's  clay,  and  kneaded  in  distress, 
They  taste  the  world  awhile,   then  pass  away. 

338.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.    Note  the  archaic  form. 


339- 

We  make  the  wine-jar's  lip  our  place  of  prayer, 
And  drink  in  lessons  of  true  manhood  there. 

And  pass  our  lives  in  taverns,  if  perchance 
The  time  mis-spent  in  mosques  we  may  repair. 

339.     L.  N.     This  quatrain  is  probably  Mystical. 
15 


226  QUATRAINS   OF  OMAR   KHAYYAM 


340- 


Man  is  the  whole  creation's  summary, 
The  precious  apple  of  great  wisdom's  eye; 

The  circle  of  existence  is  a  ring, 
Whereof  the  signet  is  humanity. 


340. 


C.  L.  N.  A.  I.     Man  is  the  microcosm.     See  Gulshan  i  Ras,  p. 
15.     «The  captain  jewel  of  the  carcanet.>> 


341. 

With  fancies,   as  with  wine,  our  heads  we  turn. 
Aspire  to  heaven,  and  earth's  low  trammels  spurn; 

But,  when  we  drop  this  fleshly  clog,  'tis  seen 
From  dust  we  came,  and  back  to  dust  return. 


341.    L.  N. 


342- 

If  so  it  be  that  I  did  break  the  fast, 
Think  not  I  meant  it;  no!  I  thought  'twas  past;  — 
That  day  more  weary  than  a  sleepless  night, — 
And  blessed  breakfast-time  had  come  at  last! 

342.     L.  N.     Roza   khwardan,  «to    avoid    fasting.»      In   line   2,    for 
bekhabar  read  bakhabar. 


343- 

I  never  drank  of  joy's  sweet  cordial, 

But  grief's  fell  hand  infused  a  drop  of  gall; 

Nor  dipped  my  bread  in  pleasure's  piquant  salt, 
But  briny  sorrow  made  me  smart  withal! 

343.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.     Line  4,  literally,  «eat  a  roast  of  my  own  liver. » 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  227 


344. 

At  dawn  to  tavern  haunts  I  wend  my  way, 
And  with  distraught  Kalendars  pass  the  day; 

O   Thou!   who  know'st   things    secret,    and   things 
known, 
Grant  me  Thy  grace,  that  I  may  learn  to  pray! 

344.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     Khafiyyat  means  <<  manifest, >>  as  well  as  «con- 
cealed.»    Lucknow  commentator. 


345- 

The  world's  annoys  I  rate  not  at  one  grain, 
So  I  eat  once  a   day  I  don't  complain; 

And,   since  earth's  kitchen  yields  no  solid  food, 
I  pester  no  man  with  petitions  vain. 

345.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     In  line  3  the  Alif  in  as  is  not  treated  as  an 
Alif  i  was  I.     Bl.,  Pros.  10. 


346. 

Never  from  worldly  toils  have   I  been  free, 
Never  for  one  short  moment  glad  to  be! 
I  served  a  long  apprenticeship  to  fate, 
But  yet  of  fortune  gained  no  mastery. 

346.    C.  L.  N.A.  I.  J.     Ek  dam  zadan,  «  For  one  moment.* 


347- 

One  hand  with   Koran,  one  with  wine-cup  dight. 
I  half  incline  to  wrong,  and  half  to  right; 

The  azure-marbled  sky  looks  down  on  me 
A  sorry  Moslem,  yet  not  heathen  quite. 

347.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     Khayyam   here    describes  himself  as  akrates 
rather  than  akolastos,  ^'^  Video  meliora  proboque,''^  etc. 


228  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


348. 

Khayyam's  respects  to  Mustafa  convey, 
And  with   due  reverence   ask  him   to  say, 

Why  it  has  pleased  him   to  forbid  pure  wine, 
When  he  allows  his  people  acid  whey  ? 

348  and  349.  L.  These  two  quatrains  are  also  found  in  Whalley's 
Morababad  edition.  Mustafa,  i.e.,  Muhammad.  SoAvicenna- 
See  Renan,  Averroes,  171. 


349- 

Tell  Khayyam,  for  a  master  of  the  schools, 
He  strangely  misinterprets  my  plain  rules: 

Where  have  I  said  that  wine  is  wrong  for  all  ? 
'Tis  lawful  for  the  wise,  but  not  for  fools. 


350- 

My  critics  call  me  a  philosopher. 
But  Allah  knows  full  well  they  greatly  err; 
I  know  not  even  what  I  am,  much  less 
Why  on  this  earth  I  am  a  sojourner! 

350.  C.  L.  A.  I.  J.  Filsafat  meant  the  Greek  philosophy  as  culti- 
vated by  Persian  rationalists,  in  opposition  to  theology. 
Renan,  Averroes,  p.  91. 


351- 

The  more  I  die  to  self,   I  live  the  more. 
The  more  abase  myself,  the  higher  soar; 

And,  strange!  the  more  I  drink  of  Being's  wine, 
More  sane  I  grow  and  sober  than  before. 

351.     L.     Clearly   Mystical. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  229 

352- 

Quoth  rose,   "  I  am  the  Yusuf  flower,  I  swear, 
For  in  my  mouth  rich  golden  gems  I  bear  ^^ : 

I  said,   "Show  me  another  proof. ^^     Quoth  she, 
"  Behold  this  blood-stained  vesture  that  I  wear !  *^ 

352.  B.  L.  Yusuf  is  the  type  of  manly  beauty.  The  yellow  stamens 
are  compared  to  his  teeth.  So  Jami,  in  Yusuf  wa  Zu- 
laikhcL, 


353- 

I  studied  with  the  masters  long  ago, 
And  long  ago  did  master  all  they  know; 
Here  now  the  end  and  issue  of  it  all, 
From  earth  I  came,  and  like  the  wind  I  go! 

353.  L.  B.  Mr.  Fitzgerald  compares  the  dying  exclamation  of 
Nizam  ul-Mulk,  «I  am  going  in  the  hands  of  the  wind!» 
Mantik  ut  Tair,  1.  4620. 


354. 

Death  finds  us  soiled,  though  we  were  pure  at  birth. 
With  grief  we  go,   although  we  came  with  mirth; 

Watered  with  tears,  and  burned  with  fires  of  woe. 
And,   casting  life  to  winds,   we  rest  in  earth! 

354.    C.  L.  A.  I.  J. 


355- 

To  find  great  Jamshid's  world-reflecting  bowl 

I  compassed   sea  and  land,  and  viewed  the  whole; 

But,  when  I  asked  the  wary  sage,   I  learned 
That  bowl  was  my  own  body,   and  my  soul ! 

355.  L.  King  Jamshid's  cup,  which  reflected  the  whole  world,  is 
the  Holy  Grail  of  Persian  poetry.  Meaning  «man  is  the 
microcosm. »  See  note  on  No.  340.  In  line  2  scan  nagh- 
nudem. 


230  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


356. 

Me,  cruel  Queen!  you  love  to  captivate, 
And  from  a  knight  to  a  poor  pawn  translate; 
You  marshal  all  your  force  to  tire  me  out. 
You  take  my  rooks  with  yours,  and  then  checkmate! 

356.     C.  L.  A.  I.  J.     The  pun  on  rukh,  « cheek,**  and  r«/^^,  « castle,** 
is  untranslatable. 


357- 

If  Allah  wills  me  not  to  will  aright, 
How  can  I  frame  my  will  to  will  aright  ? 

Each  single  act  I  will  must  needs  be  wrong, 
Since  none  but  He  has  power  to  will  aright. 

357.  C.  L.  A.  I.  J. 

*  For  once,  while  roses  are  in  bloom,**  I  said, 

*  I'll  break  the  law,   and  please  myself  instead, 

With  blooming  youths,  and  maidens'  tulip   cheeks 
The  plain  shall  blossom  Kke  a  tulip-bed.* 

358.  L.  N.     Rozi,  ya  i  batni,  or  tatikir  (?). 


359- 

Think  not  I  am  existent  of  myself, 
■     Or  walk  this  blood-stained  pathway  of  myself; 
This  being  is  not  I,   it  is  of  Him. 
Pray  what,  and  where,  and  whence  is  this  "  myself  **  ? 

359.  C.  L.  A.  I.  J.  In  line  3  I  omit  iva  after  Lu  bud.  Meaning, 
Man's  real  existence  is  not  of  himself,  but  of  the  <<  Truth,** 
the  universal  Nouinenon. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  231 


360. 


Endure  this  world  without  my  wine  I  cannot! 
Drag  on  life's  load  without  my  cups  I  cannot! 
I  am  the  slave  of  that  sweet  moment,   when 
They  say,   **Take  one  more  goblet,**  and  I  cannot! 


360.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


361. 


You,  who  both  day  and  night  the  world  pursue, 
And  thoughts  of  that  dread  day  of  doom  eschew, 

Bethink  you  of  your  latter  end;  be  sure 
As  time  has  treated  others,  so  'twill  you! 


361.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I. 


362. 


O  man,  who  art  creation's  summary, 
Getting  and  spending  too  much  trouble  thee! 

Arise,  and  quaff  the  Etern  Cupbearer's  wine, 
And  so  from  troubles  of  both  worlds  be  free! 

362.  C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.  So  Wordsworth,  «The  world  is  too  much 
with  us,>>  etc.  The  Sufis  rejected  talab  ud dunya,*^-wor\6.- 
liness,>>  and  talab  nl  ukharat,  «other-worldliness,'>  for 
talab  nl  maul  a,  « disinterested  godliness. >*  So  Madame 
Guyon  taught  «  Holy  Indifference.* 


363- 

In  this  eternally  revolving  zone. 

Two  lucky  species  of  men  are  known; 

One  knows  all  good  and  ill  that  are  on  earth, 
One  neither  earth's  affairs,  nor  yet  his  own. 

363.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.      Taman,  ^entirely.*    The  two  classes  seem  to 
be  practical  men  and  mystics. 


232       QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 


364. 

Make  light  to  me  the  world's  oppressive  weight, 
And  hide  my  failings  from  the  people's  hate, 

And  grant  me  peace  to-day,   and  on  the  morrow 
Deal  with  me  as  Thy  mercy  may  dictate! 

364.     C.  L.  N,  A.  I.  J.     In  line  4  scan  anchaz. 


365- 

Souls  that  are  well  informed  of  this  world's  state, 
Its  weal  and  woe  with  equal  mind  await: 
For,  be  it  weal  we  meet,  or  be  it  woe. 
The  weal  doth  pass,  and  woe  too  hath  its  date. 

365.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J.     'Twill  all  be  one  a  hundred  years  hence. 


366. 

Lament  not  fortune's  want  of  constancy, 
But  up!  and  seize  her  favours  ere   they  flee; 

If  fortune  always  cleaved  to  other  men, 
How  could  a  turn  of  luck  have  come  to  thee  ? 

366.     C.  L.  N.  A.   I.  J.     This  was  a  saying  of   Kisra    Parviz  to   his 
Sultana.     Bicknell's  Hafiz,  p.  73. 


367- 

Chief  of  old  friends!  hearken   to  what   I   say. 
Let  not  heaven's  treacherous  wheel   your   heart  dis- 
may; 
But  rest  contended  in  your  humble  nook, 
And  watch  the  games  that  wheel  is  wont  to  play. 

367.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  233 


368. 

Hear  now  Khayyam's  advice,  and  bear  in  mind, 
Consort  with  revellers,  though  they  be  maligned, 
Cast  down  the  gates  of  abstinence  and  prayer, 
Yea,  drink,  and   even  rob,  but,  oh!   be  kind! 

368.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J.     A  rather  violent  extension  of  the  doctrine, 
Mercy  is  better  than  sacrifice. 


369- 

This  world  a  body  is,  and  God  its  soul, 
And  angels  are  its  senses,  who  control 

Its  limbs — the  creatures,  elements,  and  spheres; 
The   ONE  is  the   sole  basis  of  the  whole. 

369.     L.  N.    So  Pope,  ^*A11  are  but  parts, >>  etc. 


370. 

Last  night  that  idol  who  enchants  my  heart. 
With  true   desire  to  elevate   my  heart. 

Gave   me   his   cup  to   drink;   when  I   refused. 
He  said,  ^*  Oh,   drink  to  gratify  my  heart! '^ 


370.    N. 


371. 

Would'st  thou  have  fortune  bow  her  neck  to  thee, 
Make  it  thy  care   to  feed  thy  soul  with  glee; 

And  hold  a  creed  like  mine,  which  is   to  drain 
The  cup  of  wine,  not  that  of  misery. 

^71.  So  the  Ecclesiast,  <<  There  is  nothing  better  for  a  man  than  that 
he  should  eat,  and  drink,  and  make  his  soul  enjoy  good  in 
his  labour. » 


234  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


372. 

Though  you  survey   O  my  enlightened  friend, 
This   world  of  vanity  from  end  to  end, 

You  will  discover  there  no  other  good 
Than  wine  and  rosy  cheeks,  you  may  depend! 

373.     N.     Note  izafat  dropped  after  sahib.    Bl.,  Prosody,  p.  14. 


Last  night  upon  the  Trrer  bank  we  lay, 
I  with  my  wine-cup,  and  a  maiden  gay. 

So  bright  it  shone,  like  pearl  within  its  shell, 
The  watchman  cried,   ^^  Behold  the  break  of  day !  * 

373.  N.  Nigare.  Here  ya  may  be  ya  i  tankir,  the  izafat  being 
dispensed  with  (Lumsden,  ii.  269)  [?],  or  perhaps  ya  i 
tausifi  before  the  "sifat»  marvzuvt. 


374- 

Have  you  no  shame  for  all  the  sins  you  do. 
Sins  of  omission  and  commission  too  ? 

Suppose  you  gain  the  world,  you  can  but  leave  it. 
You  cannot  carry  it  away  with  you! 

374.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.    J. 


375- 

In  a  lone  waste  I  saw  a  debauchee. 
He  had  no  home,  no  faith,  no  heresy, 

No  God,  no  truth,  no  law,  no  certitude; 
Where  in  this  world  is  man  so  bold  as  he  ? 

375.     L.  N.     A  beshard  or  antinomian  Sufi. 


E.   H.  WHINFIELD  235 


376. 

Some  look  for  truth  in  creeds,  and  forms,  and  rules; 
Some  grope  for  doubts  or  dogmas  in  the  schools; 

But  from  behind  the  veil  a  voice  proclaims, 
*Your  road  lies  neither  here  nor  there,  O  fools." 

376.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.     Truth,  hidden  from  theologians  and  philosophers, 
is  revealed  to  mystics.     See  Gulshan  i  Raz,  p.   11. 


377- 

In  heaven  is  seen  the  bull  we  name  Parwin, 
Beneath  the  earth  another  lurks  unseen; 

And  thus  to  wisdom's  eyes  mankind  appear 
A  drove  of  asses,  two  great  bulls  between! 

377.     L.  N.     The  bulls  are  the  constellation  Taurus,  and   that  which 
supports  the  earth. 


378- 

The  people  say,   *^  Why  not  drink  somewhat  less  ? 
What  reasons  have  you  for  such  great  excess  ? " 

First,  my  Love's  face,  second,  my  morning  draught; 
Can  there  be  clearer  reasons,  now  confess  ? 

378.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


379- 

Had  I  the  power  great  Allah  to  advise, 

I'd  bid  him  sweep  away  this  earth  and  skies, 

And  build  a  better,  where,  unclogged  and  free, 
The  clear  soul  might  achieve  her  high  emprise. 

379.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     This  recalls  the  celebrated  speech  of  Alphonso 
X.,  king  of  Castile. 


236  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR    KHAYYAM 


380. 

This  silly  sorrow-laden  heart  of  mine 
Is  ever  pining  for  that  Love  of  mine; 

When  the  Cupbearer  poured  the  wine  of  love, 
With  my  heart's  blood  he  filled  this  cup  of  mine! 

380.  C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  Meaning,  « the  wine  of  life,  or  existence,  poured 
by  the  Deity  into  all  beings  at  creation.  >^  See  Gt  Ishan  i 
Raz,  p.  80. 


381. 

To  drain  the  cup,  to  hover  round  the  fair, 
Can  hypocritic  arts  with  these  compare  ? 

If  all  who  love  and  drink  are  going  wrong. 
There's  many  a  wight  of  heaven  may  well  despair! 

381.    L.  N.  B. 


382- 

'Tis    wrong    with    gloomy    thoughts    your    mirth    to 

drown, — 
To  let  grief's  millstone  weigh  your  spirits  down; 

Since  none  can  tell  what  is  to  be,   'tis  best 
With  wine  and  love  your  heart's  desires  to  crown. 

383.    C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J. 


383. 

'Tis  well  in  reputation  to  abide, 
'Tis  shameful  against  heaven  to  rail  and  chide; 
Still,   head  had  better  ache  with  over  drink, 
Than  be  puffed  up  with  Pharisaic  pride! 

383.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     Compare  «Tartufe,»  i.  6. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  237 


384. 


O  Lord!  pity  this  prisoned  heart,  I  pray, 
Pity  this  bosom  stricken  with  dismay! 

Pardon  these  hands  that  ever  grasp  the  cup. 
These  feet  that  to  the  tavern  ever  stray  I 


384-    N. 


385. 

O  Lord!  from  self-conceit  deliver  me. 
Sever  from  self,  and  occupy  with  Thee! 

This  self  is  captive  to  earth's  good  and  ill. 
Make  me  beside  myself,  and  set  me  free! 

385.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     A  Mystics  prayer. 


386. 

Behold  the  tricks  this  wheeling  dome  doth  play. 
And  earth  laid  bare  of  old  friends  torn  away! 

O  live  this  present  moment,  which  is  thine, 
Seek  not  a  morrow,  mourn  not  yesterday! 

386.     L.  B.     An  odd  expression. 


387. 

Since  all  man's  business  in  this  world  of  woe 
Is  sorrow's  pangs  to  feel,  and  grief  to  know, 

Happy  are  they  that  never  come  at  all, 
And  they  that,  having  come,  the  soonest  go! 

3S7.     C.  L.  A.  B.  I.  J.  Compare  the  chorus  in  the  «CEdipus  Coloneus.» 


238  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


388. 

By  reason's  dictates  it  is  right  to  live, 
But  of  ourselves  we  know  not  how  to  live, 
So  Fortune,  like  a  master,  rod  in  hand, 
Raps  our  pates  well  to  teach  us  how  to  live! 

388.     L.     Fortune's  buffets. 


389. 

Nor  you  nor  I  can  read  the  etern  decree, 
To  that  enigma  we  can  find  no  key; 

They  talk  of  you  and  me  behind  the  veil, 
But,  if  that  veil  be  lifted,   where  are  we  ? 

389.  C.  L.  A.  I.  J.  Meaning,  We  are  part  of  the  «veil»  of  phenom- 
ena, which  hides  the  Divine  Noumenon.  If  that  be  swept 
away  what  becomes  of  us  ? 


390. 

O  Love,   for  ever  doth  heaven's  wheel  design 
To  take  away  thy  precious  life,   and  mine; 

Sit  we  upon  this  turf,    'twill  not  be  long 
Ere  turf  shall  grow  upon  my  dust,  and  thine! 

390.     L.  N.  B. 


391-  « 

When  life  has  fled,  and  we  rest  in  the  tomb, 
They'll  place  a  pair  of  bricks  to  mark  our  tomb; 
And,  a  while  after,  mould  our  dust  to  bricks, 
To  furnish  forth  some  other  person's  tomb! 

391.     L.  N.  A.  I. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  239 


392- 

Yon  palace,  towering  to  the  welkin  blue, 

Where  kings  did  bow  them  down,  and  homage  do, 

I  saw  a  ringdove  on  its  arches  perched, 
And  thus  she  made  complaint,  *  Coo,  Coo,  Coo,  Coo  \  '^ 

392.  C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.  Mr.  Binning  found  this  quatrain  inscribed 
on  the  ruins  of  Persepolis  —  Fitzgerald.  Coo  (Ku)  means 
<*  Where  are  they?» 


393- 

"We  come  and  go,  but  for  the  gain,  where  is  it  ? 
And  spin  life's  woof,  but  for  the  warp,  where  is  it  ? 

And  many  a  righteous  man  has  burned  to  dust 
In  heaven's  blue  rondure,  but  their  smoke,  where  is  it  ? 

393.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J.     So  Ecclesiastes,  << There  is  no  remembrance 
of  the  wise,  more  than  of  the  fool.»    «  Smoke, »  z'.e.,  trace. 


394. 

Life's  well-spring  lurks  within  that  lip  of  thine! 
Let  not  the  cup's  lip  touch  that  lip  of  thine! 

Beshrew  me,  if  I  fail  to  drink  his  blood, 
For  who  is  he,  to  touch  that  lip  of  thine  ? 

394.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     To  a  sweetheart. 


395- 

Such  as  I  am.  Thy  power  created  me, 
Thy  care  hath  kept  me  for  a  century! 

Through  all  these  years  I  make  experiment, 
If  my  sins  or  Thy  mercy  greater  be. 

395.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     God's  long-suffering. 


240  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


396. 

®Take  up  thy  cup  and  goblet,  Love,*'  I  said, 
"  Haunt  purling-  river  bank,  and  grassy  glade ; 

Full  many  a  moon-like  form  has  heaven's  weel 
Oft  into  cup,  oft  into  goblet,  made !  '* 

396.     C.  L.   N.  A.  B.  I.  J. 


397- 

We  buy  new  wine  and  old,  our  cups  to  fill, 

And  sell  for  two  grains  this  world's  good   and  ill; 

Know  you  where  you  will  go  to  after  death  ? 
Set  wine  before  me,   and  go  where  you  will! 

397.     L.  N.  and  J.  give  lines  i  and  2  differently. 


398. 

Was  e'er  man  born  who  never  went  astray  ? 
Did  ever  mortal  pass  a  sinless  day  ? 

If  I   do  ill,  do  not  requite   with   ill! 
Evil  for  evil  how  can'st  Thou  repay  ? 

398.     L.  N.     Line  3  and  4  are  paraphrased  somewhat  freely. 


399- 

Bring  forth  that  ruby  gem   of  Badakhshan, 
That  heart's  delight,  that   balm   of  Turkistan; 

They  say  'tis  wrong  for  Musulmen  to  drink, 
But   ah !  where   can   we   find  a   Musulman  ? 

399.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


E.  H.  WHINP-^IELD  241 


400. 


My  body's  life  and  strength  proceed  from  Thee! 
My   soul   within   and  spirit  are   of  Thee! 

My  being  is  of  Thee,  and  Thou  art  mine, 
And   I  am  Thine,  since  I  am  lost  in  Thee! 

400.     L,     «In  him  we  live  and  move,  and  have  otir  being.® 


401. 

Man,  like  a  ball,  hither  and  thither  goes, 
As  fate's  resistless  bat  directs  the  blows; 

But  He,  who  gives  thee  up  to  this  rude   sport, 
He  knows  what  drives  thee,  yea.  He  knows,  He  knows! 

401.     C.  L.  A.  I.  J.     Line  4  is  in  metre  22,  consisting  of  ten  syllables, 
all  long. 


402. 

O  Thou  who  givest  sight  to  emmet's  eyes, 
And  strength  to  puny  limbs  of  feeble   flies. 

To  Thee  we  will  ascribe  Almighty  power, 
And  not  base,   unbecoming  qualities. 

402.     L.     An  echo   of   the    Asharian's    discussions  on  the   Divine  at- 
tributes. 


403. 

Let  not  base  avarice  enslave  thy  mind. 
Nor  vain  ambition  in  its  trammels  bind; 

Be  sharp  as  fire,  as  running  water  swift, 
Not,  like  earth's  dust,   the  sport  of  every  wind! 

403.     L.  C.  A.  I.  J. 
16 


243  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


404. 

'Tis  best  all  other  blessings  to  forego 
For  wine,  that  charming  Turki  maids  bestow; 
Kalendars'  raptures  pass  all  things  that  are, 
From  moon  on  high  down  into  fish  below.' 

404.  C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J.  For  mah  L.  reads  kahk  probably  a  Sufi 
gloss.  Kalendars,  bibulous  Sufis.  Fish,  that  whereon  the 
earth  was  said  to  rest. 


405. 

Friend!  trouble  not  yourself  about  your  lot, 
Let  futile  care  and  sorrow  be  forgot; 

Since  this  life's  vesture  crumbles  into  dust, 
What  matters  stain  of  word  or  deed,  or  blot? 

405.    L.  N. 


406. 

O  thou  who  hast  done  ill,  and  ill  alone. 
And  thinkest  to  find  mercy  at  the  throne, 

Hope  not  for  mercy!  for  good  left  undone 
Cannot  be  done,  nor  evil  done  undone! 

406.     N.  A.  I.     This  quatrain  is   by  Abu    Sa'id   Abu'l    Khair;  and  is 
an  answer  to  No.  420,  which  is  attributed  to  Avicenna. 


407. 

Count  not  to  live  beyond  your  sixtieth   year, 
To  walk  in  jovial  courses  persevere; 

And  ere  your  skull  be  turned  into  a  cup, 
Let  wine-cups  ever  to  your  hand  adhere! 

407.    L.  N.  B. 


E,  H.  WHINFIELD  243 


408. 


These  heavens  resemble  an  inverted  cup, 
Whereto  the  wise  with  awe  keep  gazing  up; 

So  stoops  the  bottle  o'er  his  love,   the  cup, 
Feigning  to  kiss,  and  gives  her  blood  to  sup! 

408.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.     Blood,  an  emblem  of  hate. 


409. 

I  sweep  the  tavern  threshold  with  my  hair, 
For  both  world's  good  and  ill  I  take  no  care; 

Should  the  two  worlds  roll  to  my  house,  like  balls, 
When  drunk,  for  one  small  coin  I'd  sell  the  pair! 

409.    L.  N.   B. 


410. 

The  drop  wept  for  his  severance  from  the  sea. 
But  the  sea  smiled,  for  ^^  I  am  all,**  said  he. 

The  Truth  is  all,  nothing  exists  beside, 
That  one  point  circling  apes  plurality.* 

410.     N.     This  is  in  Ramal  metre,  No.  50.    Compare  Gulshan  i  Raz, 
line  710. 


411. 

Shall  I  still  sigh  for  what  I  have  not  got. 
Or  try  with  cheerfulness  to  bear  my  lot  ? 

Fill  up  my  cup!  I  know  not  if  the  breath 
I  now  am  drawing  is  my  last,  or  not! 

411.     C.  L.   N.    A.   B.   I.  J.     Some  MSS.  place  this  quatrain  under 
Radif  ya. 


244  QUATRAINS.OF   OMAR  KHAYYAM 


412. 

Yield  not  to  grief,  though  fortune  prove  unkind, 
Nor  call  sad  thoughts  of  parted  friends  to  mind; 

Devote  thy  heart  to  sugary  lips,  and  wine, 
Cast  not  thy  precious  life  unto  the  wind! 

412.    L.  N.  B 


413- 

Of  mosque  and  prayer  and  fast  preach  not  to  me. 
Rather  go  drink,  were  it  on  charity! 

Yea,  drink,  Khayyam,  your  dust  will  soon  be  made 
A  jug,  or  pitcher,  or  a  cup,  may  be! 

413.     N.     « Imperial  Caesar,  dead,  and  turned  to  clay, 

Might    stop  a  hole  to  keep  the  wind  away.>> 


414. 

Bulbuls,  doting  on  roses,   oft    complain 

How  froward  breezes  rend  their  veils  in  twain; 

Sit  we  beneath  this  rose,   which  many  a  time 
Has  sunk  to  earth,  and  sprung  from  earth  again. 

414.     L.  N.  B.     So  Moschus  on  the  mallows. 


415. 

Suppose  the  world  goes  well  with  you,  what  then  ? 
When  life's  last  page  is  read  and  turned,  what  then  ? 

Suppose  you  live  a  hundred  years  of  bliss. 
Yea,  and  a  hundred  years  besides,  what  then  ? 

415.     C.  L.  N,  A.  I.  J.     See  VuUers,  p.  100. 


E.   H.   WHINFIELD  245 


416. 

How  is  it  that  of  all  the  leafy  tribe, 
Cypress  and  lily  men  as  "  free  "  describe  ? 

This  has  a  dozen  tongues,   yet  holds  her  peace, 
That  has  a  hundred  hands  which  take  no  bribe. 

416.  L.  N.  Sa'di  in  the  Gulistan,  Book  viii.,  gives  another  expla- 
nation of  this  expression.  « Tongues,  stamens,  and  hands', 
branches.  >> 


417. 

Cupbearer,  bring  my  \vine-cup,  let  me  grasp  it ! 
Bring  that  delicious  darling,  let  me  grasp  it! 

That  pleasing  chain  which  tangles  in  its  coils 
Wise  men  and  fools  together,  let  me  grasp  it! 

417.     L.  N.     Bipechand  seems  a  plural  of  dignity. 


418. 

.  Alas!  my  wasted  life  has  gone  to  wrack! 
What  with  forbidden  meats,   and  lusts,   alack! 

And  leaving  undone  what  'twas  right  to  do, 
And  doing  wrong,   my  face  is  very  black! 

418.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.   These  whimsical  outbursts  of  self-reproach  in  the 
midst  of  antinomian  utterances  are  characteristic  of  Khayyam. 


419. 

I  could  repent  of  all,   but  of  wine,  never! 

I  could  dispense  with  all,  but  with  wine,  never! 

If  so  be  I  became  a  Musulman, 
Could  I  abjure  my  Magian  wine  ?  no,  never ! 

419.     L.  N.     The  Magians  sold  wine. 


246  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


420. 

We  rest  our  hopes  on  Thy  free  grace  alone, 
Nor  seek  by  merits  for  our  sins  to  atone; 

Mercy  drops  where  it  lists,  and  estimates 
111  done  as  undone,  good  undone  as  done. 

420.     L.  N.   A.  I.     This  quatrain   is  also   ascribed   to   the  celebrated 
philosopher  Avicenna.   See  No.  406. 


421. 

This  is  the  form  Thou  gavest  me  of  old, 
Wherein  Thou  workest  marvels  manifold; 

Can  I  aspire  to  be  a  better  man, 
Or  other  than  I  issued  from  Thy  mould? 

421.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.     This  is  a  variation  of  No.  221, 


422. 

O   Lord!  to  Thee  all  creatures  worship  pay. 
To  Thee  both  small  and  great  for  ever  pray, 

Thou  takest  woe  away,  and  givest  weal. 
Give  then,  or,  if  it  please  Thee,  take  away! 

422.     L.     Scan  bandagzia,  oraiiiin^  J  at  ha  before  te.     VuUers,  p,  197. 


423- 

With  going  to  and  fro  in  this  sad  vale 
Thou  art  grown  double,  and  thy  credit  stale. 

Thy  nails  are  thickened  like  a  horse's  hoof, 
Thy  beard  is  ragged  as  an  ass's  tail. 

423.     C.  L.  A.  I.  J.     A  description  of  old  age. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  247 


424. 


O  unenlightened  race  of  humankind, 
Ye  are  a  nothing,  built  on  empty  wind! 

Yea,  a  mere  nothing,  hovering  in  the  abyss, 
A   void  before  you,  and  a  void  behind ! 

434.  C.  L.  A.  I.  J.  The  technical  name  for  existence  between  two 
non-existences  is  Takwtn.  Bl.  Atn  i  Akbari,  p.  198. 
Compare  the  term  «  nunc  stans,^^  applied  to  Time  by  the 
Schoolmen. 


425- 

Each  morn  I  say,  *  To-night  I  will  repent 
Of  wine,  and  tavern  haunts  no  more  frequent  '^ ; 
But  while  'tis  spring,  and  roses  are  in  bloom, 
To  loose  me  from  my  promise,  O  consent! 

425.     C.  L.A.I.  J. 


426. 

Vain  study  of  philosophy  eschew! 

Rather  let  tangled  curls  attract  your  view; 

And  shed  the  bottle's  life-blood  in  your  cup. 
Or  e'er  death  shed  your  blood,   and  feast  on  you. 

426.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J.     Bigorezi  bt\  « better   that  you  should  es- 
chew.* 


427- 

O  heart!  can'st  thou  the  darksome  riddle  read. 
Where  wisest  men  have  failed,  wilt  thou  succeed  ? 

Quaff  wine,  and  make  thy  heaven  here  below. 
Who  knows  if  heaven  above  will  be  thy  meed  ? 

427.    C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J. 


248       QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 


They  that  have  passed  away,  and  gone  before, 
Sleep  in  delusion's  dust  for  evermore; 

Go,  boy,  and  fetch  some  wine,   this  is  the  truth, 
Their  dogmas  were  but  air,   and  wind  their  lore ! 

428.  C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J.  So  Ecclesiastes,  «I  gave  my  heart  to 
know  wisdom  .  .  .  and  perceived  that  this  also  is 
vanity.» 


429. 

O  heart!  when  on  the  Loved  One's  sweets  you  feed, 
You  lose  yourself,  but  find  your  Self  indeed; 

And,  when  you  drink  of  His  entrancing  cup, 
You  hasten  your  escape  from  quick  and  dead! 

429.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     Die  to  self,  to  live  in    God,  your    true   self. 
See  Max  Miiller,  Hibbert  Lectures,  p.  375. 


430- 

Though  I  am  wont  a  wine-bibber  to  be. 
Why  should  the  people  rail  and  chide  at  me  ? 

Would  that  all  evil  actions  made  men  drunk, 
For  then  no  sober  people  should  I  see! 

430.    C.  N.  A.  I.  J 


431. 

Child  of  four  elements  and  sevenfold  heaven. 
Who  fume  and  sweat  because  of  these  eleven, 

Drink!  I  have  told  you   seventy  times  and  seven, 
Once  gone,  nor  hell  will  send  you  back,  nor  heaven. 

431.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  249 


432. 

With  many  a  snare  Thou  dost  beset  my  way, 
And  threatenest,  if  I  fall  therein,  to  slay; 

Thy  rule  resistless  sways  the  world,   yet  Thou 
Imputest  sin,  when  I  do  but  obey! 

432.  B.  N.  Allah  is  the  Fa'il  i  hakikt,  the  only  real  agent,  accord- 
ing to  the  Snfi  view.  Hukmi  tu  Kunz,  «Thou  givest 
thy  order.® 


433- 

To  Thee,  whose  essence  baffles  human  thought, 
Our  sins  and  righteous  deeds  alike  seem  naught ; 

May  Thy  grace  sober  me,  though  drunk  with  sins, 
And  pardon  all  the  ill  that  I  have  wrought! 

433.    L.  N. 


434- 

If  this  life  were  indeed  an  empty  play, 
Each  day  would  be  an  'lid  of  festal  day, 

And  men  might  conquer  all  their  hearts'  desire, 
Fearless  of  after  penalties   to  pay! 

434.     N.     N.  takes  taklid  in  the  sense  of  "authority,*  but  I  think  it 
alludes  to  Koran,  xxix.  64.     See  Gulshan  i  Raz,  p.  50. 


435- 

O  wheel  of  heaven,  you  thwart  my  heart's  desire. 
And  rend  to  shreds  my  scanty  joy's  attire. 

The  water  that  I  drink  you  foul  with  earth, 
And  turn  the  very  air  I  breathe  to  fire! 

435.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I. 


250  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


436. 

O  soul!  could  you  but  dofif  this  flesh  and  bone, 
You'd  soar  a  sprite  about  the  heavenly  throne; 

Had  you  no  shame  to  leave  your  starry  home, 
And  dwell  an  alien  on  this  earthly  zone  ? 

436.    C.  L.  N.  B.  A.  I. 


437- 

Ah,  potter,  stay  thine  hand!    with  ruthless  art 
Put  not  to  such  base  use  man's  mortal  part! 

See,  thou  art  mangling  on  thy  cruel  wheel 
Faridun's  fingers,  and  Kai  Khosrau's  heart! 

437.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.     Faridun  and  Kai  Khosrau  were   ancient   kings 
of  Persia.     Kai  Khosrau  is   usually  identified  with  Cyrus. 


438. 

O  rose!  all  beauties*  charms  thou  dost  excel. 
As  wine  excels  the  pearl  within  its  shell; 
O  fortune!  thou  dost  ever  show  thyself 
More  strange,  although  I  seem  to  know  thee  well! 

438.     N.     Mimanz,  You  resemble. 


439- 

From  this  world's  kitchen  crave  not  to  obtain 
Those  dainties,  seeming  real,  but  really  vain. 

Which  greedy  worldlings  gorge  to  their  own  loss; 
Renounce  that  loss,  so  loss  shall  prove  thy  gain! 

439.    L.  N.  B. 


E.  H.  WHINFIEI^D  251 


440. 

Plot  not  of  nights,  thy  fellows'  peace  to  blight, 
So  that  they  cry  to  God  the  live-long  night; 

Nor  plume  thee  on  thy  wealth  and   might,  which 
thieves 
May  steal  by  night,  or  death,  or  fortune's  might. 

440.     N.    Ta  bar  nikashand,  «  Let  us  abstain  from  oppressing  people, 
so  that  they  may  not  heave  a  sigh,  saying,  O  Lord.>> 


441. 

This  soul  of  mine  was  once  Thy  cherished  bride. 
What  caused  Thee  to  divorce  her  from  Thy  side  ? 

Thou  didst  not  use  to  treat  her  thus  of  yore, 
Why  then  now  doom  her  in  the  world  to  abide  ? 

441.    L.  N. 


442. 

Ah!  would  there  were  a  place  of  rest  from  pain, 
Which  we,  poor  pilgrims,  might  at  last  attain, 

And  after  many  thousand  wintry  years. 
Renew  our  life,  like  flowers,  and  bloom  again! 

442.    C.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


443- 

While  in  love's  book  I  sought  an  augury; 
An  ardent  youth  cried  out  in  ecstasy, 

^^Who  owns  a  sweetheart  beauteous  as  the    moon. 
Might  wish  his  moments  long  as  years  to  be  I  *^ 

443.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.     Compare   the   *f^  sortes    Vt'rgzh'ance.'"*    Line  4    is 
freely  paraphrased. 


252  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


444- 

Winter  is  past,  and  spring-tide  has  begun, 
Soon  will  the  pages  of  life's  book  be  done! 

Well  saith  the  sage,    "  Life  is  a  poison  rank, 
And  antidote,   save  grape-juice,  there  is  none.'* 

444.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


445- 

Beloved,  if  thou  a  reverend  Molla  be, 
Quit  saintly  show,   and  feigned  austerity, 

And  quaff  the  wine  that  Murtaza  purveys, 
And  sport  with  Houris  'neath  some  shady  tree! 

445.  N.  Note  the  change  from  the  imperative  to  the  aorist.  In  line 
4  scan  Mnrtazasha.  Murtaza  (Ali)  is  the  celestial  cup- 
bearer. 


446. 

Last  night  I  dashed  my  cup  against  a  stone, 
In  a  mad  drunken  freak,   as  I  must  own, 

And  lo!  the  cup  cries  out  in  agony, 
*  You  too,  like  me,  shall  soon  be  overthrown.* 

446.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.     Saboyzy,  ya  /  batnt,  joined   to  the  noun  by 
euphonic  or  conjunctive  ya. 


447- 

My  heart  is  weary  of  hypocrisy, 

Cupbearer,  bring  some  wine,   I  beg  of  thee! 

This  hooded  cowl  and  prayer-mat  pawn  for  wine, 
Then  will  I  boast  me  in  security. 


447.    N. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  253 


448. 


Audit  yourself,  your  truce  account  to  frame, 
See!  you  go  empty,  as  you  empty  came; 

You  say,   ^*  I  will  not  drink  and  peril  life,* 
But,  drink  or  no,  you  must  die  all  the  same? 

448.    C.  L.  N.  A.  1. 


449. 

Open  the  door!     O  entrance  who  procurest, 

And  guide  the  way,  O  Thou  of  guides  the  surest! 

Directors  born  of  men  shall  not  direct  me, 
Their  counsel  comes  to   naught,  but  Thou   endurest! 


450- 

In  slandering  and  reviling  you  persist, 
Calling  me  infidel  and  atheist: 

My  errors  I  will  not  deny,  but  yet 
Does  foul  abuse  become  a  moralist  ? 

450.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.     In   line  i  scan  goyi-yaz,    Bl.,    Prosody,    p.    10. 
The  tashdid  of  mukin  is  dropped. 


451- 

To  find  a  remedy,  put   up   with  pain, 

Chafe  not  at  woe,  and  healing  thou  wilt  gain; 

Though  poor,  be  ever  of  a  thankful  mind, 
'Tis  the  sure  method  riches  to  obtain. 

451.     L.  N.     Dawayiy.      The  first  ya  is  the  conjunctive  ya  (VuUers, 
p.  16),  the  second  ya  i  tankir. 


254  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


452. 

Give  me  a  skin  of  wine,  a  crust  of  bread 
A  pittance  bare,  a  book  of  verse  to  read; 

With  thee,  O  love,  to  share  my  lowly  roof, 
I  would  not  take  the   Sultan's  realm  instead! 

452.     N.  B,     Tange,  the  izafat   is   displaced    hy  ya  i  tankt'r,  accord- 
ing to  Lumsden,  ii.  269. 


453- 

Reason  not  of  the  five,  nor  of  the  four, 

Be  their  dark  problems  one,    or   many  score; 

We  are  but  earth,  go,   minstrel,  bring  the  lute, 
We  are  but  air,  bring  wine,  I   ask  no  more! 

453.     N.     C.  L.  A.  I.  J.  give  only  the   first  line  of   this.     Five  senses, 
four  elements. 


454- 

Why  argue  on  Yasin  and  on  Barat  ? 
Write  me  the  draft  for  wine  they  call   Barat! 
The  day  my   weariness   is  drowned  in  wine 
Will  seem  to  me  as  the  great  night  Barat! 

454.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.       Yasin  is  the  64th,  and   Barat  the  9th,  chap- 
ter of  the  Koran.     Barat,  the  « night  of  power.* 


455- 

Whilst  thou  dost  wear  this  fleshy  livery. 
Step  not  beyond  the   bounds  of  destiny; 

Bear  up,  though  very  Rustums  be  thy  foes, 
And  crave  no   boon  from  friends  like  Hatim  Tai! 

455.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


E.  H.   WHINFIELD  155 


456- 


These  ruby  lips,  and  wine,  and  minstrel  boys, 
And  lute,  and  harp,  your  dearly  cherished  toys. 
Are  mere  redundancies,  and  you  are  naught. 
Till  you  renounce  the  world's  delusive  joys. 

456.     L.  N.     Hashiv.  mere  «stx:ffing,»  leather  and  prunella. 


457. 

Bow  down,  heaven's  tyranny  to  undergo, 
Quaff  wine  to  face  the  world,  and  all  its  woe; 

Your  origin  and  end  are  both  in  earth, 
But  now.  you  are  above  earth,  not  below  ! 

457.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


458. 

You  know  all  secrets  of  this  earthly  sphere, 
Why  then  remain  a  prey  to  empty  fear  ? 

You  cannot  bend  things  to  your  will,  but  yet 
Cheer  up  for  the  few  moments  you  are  here! 

458.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     Scan  chim  wakifiyay. 


459- 

Behold,  where'er  we  turn  our  ravished  eyes. 
Sweet  verdure  springs,  and  crystal  Kausars  rise; 

And  plains,  once  bare  as  hell,  now  smile  as  heaven ; 
Enjoy  this  heaven  with  maids  of  Paradise! 

459.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J. 


256  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


460. 

Never  in  this  false  world  on  friends  rely 
(I  give  this  counsel  confidentially), 

Put  up  with  pain,   and  seek  no  antidote, 
Endure  your  grief,  and  ask  no  sympathy! 


460.    N. 


461. 

Of  wisdom's  dictates  two  are  principal. 
Surpassing  all  your  lore  traditional; 

Better  to  fast  than  eat  of  every  meat, 
Better  to  live  alone  than  mate  with  all! 

461.  N.  Hadis  i  na  goyayiy.  The  unwritten  revelations,  or  tradi- 
tions, opposed  to  Qur'an  (Koran),  the  « reading. »  So  sruti 
is  opposed  to  smriti. 


462. 

Why  unripe  grapes  are  sharp,  prithee  explain, 
And  then  grow  sweet,  while  wine  is  sharp  again  ? 

When  one  has  carved  a  block  into  a  lute, 
Can  he  from  that  same  block  a  pipe  obtain  ? 

462.    L.  N. 


463- 

When  dawn  doth  silver  the  dark  firmament. 
Why  shrills  the  bird  of  dawning  his  lament? 

It  is  to  show  in  dawn's  bright  looking-glass 
How  of  thy  careless  life  a  night  is  spent. 

463.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     So  Job,  «Hast  spread   the  sky  as   a  molten 
looking-glass. » 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  257 


464. 


Cupbearer,  come!  from  thy  full-throated  ewer 
Pour  blood-red  wine,  the  world's  despite   to  cure! 

Where  can  I  find  another  friend  like  wine, 
So  genuine,  so  solacing,  so  pure  ? 

464.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


465- 

Though  you  should  sit  in  sage  Aristo's  room. 
Or  rival  Caesar  on  his  throne  of  Rum, 

Drain  Jemshid's  goblet,   for  your    end's  the  tomb, 
Yea,  were  you  Bahram's  self,  your  end's  the  tomb! 

465.     N.    Jamhur,    a   name    of    Buzurjimihr,    Wazir   of   Nushirwan. 
Faghfur,  the  Chinese  emperor. 


466. 

It  chanced  into  a  potter's  shop  I  strayed. 

He  turned  his  wheel  and  deftly  plied  his  trade. 

And  out  of  monarchs'  heads,  and  beggars'  feet, 
Fair  heads  and  handles  for  his  pitchers  made! 

466.     C.  N.  L.  A.  I.  J.     Paya,  «the  treadle.» 


467. 

If  you  have  sense,   true  senselessness  attain. 
And  the  Etern  Cupbearer's  goblet  drain; 

If  not,  true  senselessness  is  not  for  you. 
Not  every  fool  true  senselessness  can  gain! 

467.     L.  N.     Meaning,  the    « truly   Mystical    darkness   of   ignorance. » 
See  Gulshan  i  Raz,  p.  13. 
17 


258  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


468. 

O  Love!  before  you  pass  death's  portal  through, 
And  potters  make  their  jugs  of  me  and  you, 

Pour  from    this  jug  some  wine,  of  headache  void, 
And  fill  your  cup,  and  fill  my  goblet  too! 

468.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     Headache,  in  allusion  to  the   wine  of  Para- 
dise, Koran,  Ivi.  17. 


469. 

O  Love!  while  yet  you  can,  with  tender  art, 
Lift  sorrow's  burden  from  your  lover's  heart; 
Your  wealth  of  graces  will  not  always  last, 
But  slip  from  your  possession,  and  depart! 

469.     C,  Ij.  N.  A.  I.  J.     Some    MSS.  read    zinhar  for    zihar,  either 
will  scan. 


470. 

Bestir  thee,  ere  death's  cup  for  thee  shall  flow, 
And  blows  of  ruthless  fortune  lay  thee  low; 

Acquire  some  substance  here,  there  is  none  there, 
For  those  who  thither  empty-handed  go! 

470.     L.  N.     Line  2  is  in  metre  4.     Meaning,  "Work  while  it  is  day. » 


471. 

Who  framed  the  lots  of  quick  and  dead  but  Thou  ? 
Who  turns  the  troublous  wheel  of  heaven  but  Thou  ? 

Though  we  are  sinful  slaves,  is  it  for  Thee 
To  blame  us  ?     Who  created  us  but  Thou  ? 

471.     L.  N.  A.  I. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD 


472. 


259 


O  wine,  most  limpid,  pure,   and  crystalline, 
Would  I  could  drench  this  silly  frame  of  mine 

With  thee,  that  passers  by  might  think  'twas  thou. 
And  cry,   «  Whence  comest   thou,  fair  master  wine  ?  '* 


472.     L.  N 


473. 

A  Shaikh  beheld  a  harlot,  and  quoth  he, 
*You  seem  a  slave  to  drink  and  lechery**; 

And  she  made  answer,   <<  What  I  seem  I  am, 
But,  Master,  are  you  all  you  seem  to  be  ?  ** 

473.     L.  N.    The  technical  name   of  quatrains  like    this   is   suwal  o 
jawab,  ox  muraja'at.     Gladwin,  Persian  Rhetoric,  p.  40, 


474. 

If,  like  a  ball,  earth  to  my  house  were  borne, 
When  drunk,   I'd  rate  it  at  a  barley-corn; 

Last  night  they  offered  me  in  pawn  for  wine. 
But  the  rude  vintner  laughed  that  pledge  to  scorn, 

474.     C,  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     Note  the  yas  i  tankir  in    Kuye,  j'uye,   and 
gt'raye. 


475- 

Now  in  thick  clouds  Thy   face   Thou  dost    immerse, 
And  now  display  it  in  this  universe; 

Thou  the  spectator,  Thou  the  spectacle, 
Sole   to   Thyself  Thy  glories  dost   rehearse. 

475.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     Compare  the  Vulgate,  ^^  ludens  in  orbs  terra 
rum,^^  and  Gulshan  i  Raz,  p.  14. 


26o  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


476. 

Better  to  make  one  soul  rejoice  with  glee, 
Than  plant  a  desert  with  a  colony; 

Rather  one  freeman   bind  with  chains  of   love, 
Than  set  a  thousand  prisoned  captives  free ! 

476.    L.  N. 


477- 

O  thou  who  for  thy  pleasure  dost  impart 
A  pang  of  sorrow  to  thy  fellow's  heart. 

Go!  mourn  thy  perished  wit,  and  peace  of  mind, 
Thyself  hast  slain  them,  like  the  fool  thou  art! 

477.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


478. 

Wherever  you  can  get  two  maunds  of  wine, 
Set  to,  and  drink  it  like  a  libertine ; 

Whoso  acts  thus  will  set  his  spirit  free 
From  saintly  airs  like  yours,  and  grief  like  mine. 

478.  C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I.  J.  Chu  mane,  «of  one  like  me."  So  in  No. 
170  (the  note  which  is  wrong).  Vullers,  p.  254.  Literally, 
«  mustaches  and  beards. » 


479- 

So  long  as  I  possess  two  maunds  of  wine, 
Bread   of  the  flower  of  wheat,  and  mutton  chine, 

And  you,  O   Tulip   cheek,  to   share   my  hut, 
Not  every  Sultan's  lot  can  vie  with  mine. 

479.     C.  L.  N.  A.  B.  I. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  261 


480. 


They  call  you  wicked,  if  to  fame  you're  known, 
And  an  intriguer,  if  you  live  alone; 

Trust  me,  though  you  were   Khizr  or  Elias, 
'Tis  best  to  know  none,  and  of  none  be  known. 


480.    C.  N.  I. 


481. 

Yes!  here  am  I  with  wine  and  feres  again! 
I  did  repent,   but,  aht   'twas  all  in  vain; 

Preach  not  to  me  of   Noah  and  his  flood, 
But  pour  a  flood  of  wine  to  drown  my  pain! 

481.  C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.  Tauba  i  Nassuh,  a  repentance  not  to  be  re- 
pented of.  Nicolas.  In  line  2  note  the  izafat  dropped 
after  silent  he. 


482. 

For  union  with  my  love   I  sigh  in  vain, 
The  pangs  of  absence   I   can   scarce  sustain. 

My  grief  I  dare  not  tell  to  any  friend; 
O  trouble  strange,   sweet  passion,   bitter  pain! 

482.   N.   These  quatrains  are  called ^r«^/K<2,  and  are  rare  in  Khayyam. 


483. 

'Tis  dawn!   I   hear  the   loud   Muezzin's  call, 
And  here   am   I  before   the  vintner's  hall; 

This  is  no  time  of  piety.     Be   still! 
And  drop  your  talk  and   airs   devotional! 

483.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


262  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


484. 

Angel  of  joyful  foot!   the  dawn  is  nigh; 

Pour  wine,    and  lift  your   tuneful  voice  on  high, 

Sing  how  Jemshids  and  Khosraus  bit  the  dust, 
Whelmed   by  the  rolling    months,  from   Tir    to    Dai  I 

484.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.     Tir  and  Dai,  April  and  December. 


485- 

Frown  not  at  revellers,    I  beg  of  thee, 
For  all  thou  keepest  righteous  company; 

But  drink,   for,   drink  or  no,  'tis   all  the  same. 
If  doomed  to  hell,  no  heaven   thou'lt  ever  see. 

485.     C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.     Koran,  xvi.  38:    <<  Some  of  them   there   were, 
whom  Allah  guided,  and  there  were  others  doomed  to  err.» 


486. 

I  wish  that  Allah  would  rebuild  these  skies, 
And  earth,  and  that  at  once,   before  my  eyes, 
And  either  raze  my  name  from  off  his  roll. 
Or  else   relieve  my  dire   necessities! 

486.     N.     This  rather  sins  against  Horace's  canon,  '•'^  Nee  Deus  inter- 
sit,^'*  etc. 


487. 

Lord!   make  thy  bounty's  cup  for  me  to  flow, 
And  bread  imbegged  for  day  by  day  bestow; 

Yea,  with  thy  wine  make  me  beside  myself. 
No  more  to  feel  the  headache  of  my  woe! 

487.    C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  363 


488. 

Omar!  of  burning  heart,  perchance  to  burn 
In  hell,  and  feed  its  bale-fires  in  thy  turn, 

Presume  not  to  teach  Allah  clemency, 
For  who  art  thou  to  teach,  or  He  to  learn  ? 

488.  C.  L.  N.  A.  I.  J.  The  Persian  preface  states  that,  after  his 
death,  Omar  appeared  to  his  mother  in  a  dream,  and  re- 
peated this  quatrain  to  her.  For  the  last  line  I  am  in- 
debted to  Mr,  Fitzgerald. 


489. 

Cheer  up!  your  lot  was  settled  yesterday! 
Heedless  of  all  that  you  might  do  or  say, 

Without  so  much  as  ^*  By  your    leave  **  they  fixed 
Your  lot  for  all  the  morrows  yesterday! 

489.     C.  L.  A.  B.  I.     Predestination. 


490. 

I  never  would  have  come,  had  I  been  asked, 
I  would  as  lief  not  go,  if  I  were  asked, 
And,  to   be   short,  I   would  annihilate 
All  coming,  being,  going,  were  I   asked! 

490.     C.  L.  N.  (in  part)  A.  B.  I.  J.      So   the  Ecclesiast,  « Therefore    I 
hated  life,»  etc. 


/         491- 

V. „-'"■ 

Man  is  a  cup,  his  soul  the  wine  therein, 
Flesh  is  a  pipe,  spirit  the  voice   within; 

O   Khayyam,  have  you  fathomed  what  man  is  ? 
A  magic  lantern  with  a  light  therein! 


264  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


492. 

O  skyey  wheel,  all  base  men  you  supply 

With  baths,  mills,    and  canals  that  run  not  dry, 

While   g-Qod    men   have    to   pawn   their  goods    for 
bread : 
Pray,  who  would  give  a  fig  for  such  a  sky  ? 

492.     B.  L.     In    line   3    I   read    nih  and  for   nihand,  which  will   not 
scan.     Line  4  is  slightly  paraphrased. 


493- 

A  potter  at  his  work  I  chanced  to  see, 
Poiinding  some  earth  and  shreds  of  pottery; 

I  looked  with  eyes  of  insight,   and  methought 
'Twas  Adam's  dust  with  which  he  made  so  free! 

493.     C.  L.  A.  I.  J.     Note   the  arrangement  of  the  prepositions  bar 
.     .     .     bazer.     Bl.,  Prosody,  xiii. 


494- 

The  Saki  knows  my  genus  properly^ 
To  all  woe's  species  he  holds  a  key; 

Whene'er  my  mood  is  sad,  he  brings  me  wine. 
And  that  makes  all  the  differ ejice  to  me! 

494,     C.  L.  A.   I.     A  play  on  terms  of  Logic. 


495- 

Dame  Fortune !  all  your  acts  and  deeds  confess 
That  you  are  foul  oppression's  votaress; 

You  cherish  bad  men,  and  annoy  the  good; 
Is  this  from  dotage,   or  sheer  foolishness  ? 

495.     C.  L.  A.  \.  J.     Mu'takify  a  devotee. 


E.  H.  WHINFIELD  265 


496. 


You,  who  in  carnal  lusts  your  time  employ, 
Wearing-  your  precious  spirit  with  annoy, 

Know  that  these  things  you  set  your  heart  upon 
Sooner  or  later  must  the  soul  destroy! 


497- 


Hear  from  the  spirit  world  this  mystery: 
Creation  is  summed  up,   O  man,   in  thee; 

Angel  and  demon,  man  and  beast  art  thou, 
Yea,  thou  art  all  thou  dost  appear  to  be! 

497.     L.     Man,  the  microcosm.     Line  2  is  one  syllable  short. 


498. 

If  popularity  you  would  ensue, 

Speak  well  of  Moslem,   Christian,   and  Jew; 

So  shall  you  be   esteemed  of  great  and  small, 
And  none  will  venture  to  speak  ill  of  you. 

L. 


499. 

O  wheel  of  heaven,   what  have  I  done  to  you, 
That  you  should  thus  annoy  me?     Tell  me  true; 

To  get  a  drink  I  have  to  cringe   and   stoop, 
And   for  my  bread  you  make   me  beg  and  sue. 

499.     L.     Abruy,  « honour." 


366  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


500. 

No  longer  hug  your  grief  and  vain  despair, 
But  in  this  unjust  world  be  just  and  fair; 

And  since  the  issue  of  the  world  is  naught, 
Think  you  are  naught,  and  so  shake  o£E  dull  care! 

500.     L.  B.     In  line  3  scan  nesatiyast. 


THE 
QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 

TRANSLATED  INTO  PROSE  FROM  THE 
FRENCH  VERSION  OF 

MONSIEUR  J.   B.   NICOLAS 


(267) 


THE  QUATRAINS   OF   KHAYYAM 

THIS  grand  old  poet,  who  flourished  in  the  nth  century 
and  who  brought  into  Khorasan  the  delights  of  the 
Court  of  the  Seldjoukides,  still,  in  our  day.  continues 
to  charm  with  the  pleasures  of  the  palace  of  the  Kadjars 
at  Teheran.  But  the  difficulty,  on  the  one  hand,  of 
translating  a  writer  so  essentially  abstract  in  his  philo- 
sophic thought,  so  Mystically  foreign  in  his  figurative 
expressions  (too  often  presented  in  the  form  of  a  repulsive 
materialism),  and  on  the  other,  the  embarrassment  I  could 
foresee  in  the  correcting  of  proofs  at  so  great  a  distance 
from  Paris,  and  above  all  the  feeling  of  my  incapacity 
for  undertaking  so  great  a  work,  always  prevented  my 
publishing  anything  up  to  the  present  time. 

On  my  last  journey  to  Paris,  I  met  some  friends  eager 
for  something  new  in  the  way  of  Oriental  literature, 
among  whom  I  am  pleased  to  mention  Madam  Blanche- 
cotte,  moralist  and  poet,  known  through  her  many  witty 
and  impassioned  publications.  After  having  listened  to 
the  brief  quotations  which  I  was  able  to  cite  to  them 
from  the  quatrains  of  the  poet  with  whom  we  are  now 
occupied,  they  so  strongly  urged  me  to  publish  a  complete 
translation,  and  put  so  much  emphasis  on  their  demand 
and  so  much  kindness  in  their  offers  of  service,  that  I 
decided  to  conform  to  their  desires  in  editing  this  work 

to-day. 

I  should,  however,  still  have  considered  it  beyond  my 
powers,  without  the  co-operation  of  Hassan- Ali- Khan, 
minister  plenipotentiary  from  Persia  at  the  Court  of  the 
Tuileries,  who  put  himself  out  to  aid  me  with  his  pro- 
found erudition  and  valuable  advice. 

The  history  of  Khayyam,  bound  to  that  of  two  persons 
who  played   a  great   role   in   the   annals  of  the   country, 

(269) 


27©  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR  KHAYYAM 

is,  I  believe,  of  sufficient  interest  to  warrant  my  telling 
it  here  as  it  has  been  transmitted  to  us  by  the  Persian 
historians. 

Khayyam,  bom  in  a  village  situated  near  Nishapur, 
in  Khorasan,  went  to  complete  his  studies  at  the  celebrated 
medresseh  of  that  city,  towards  the  end  of  the  year  1042 
of  the  Christian  era.  Accounts  tell  us  that  this  college 
had  acquired  at  that  time  the  reputation  of  producing 
pupils  of  rare  distinction,  from  among  whom  men  of 
talent  and  remarkable  skill  often  sprung  up  and  rapidly 
attained  to  the  highest  positions  in  the  empire. 

Abdul-Kassem  and  Hassan-Sebbah,  fellow-students  with 
Khayyam,  were  the  two  comrades  to  whom  he  was  es- 
pecially attached,  notwithstanding  a  divergence  of  char- 
acter and  opinion  which  would  seem  to  indicate  in  him 
another  choice.  One  day  Khayyam  asked  his  two  friends, 
in  a  jesting  manner,  if  a  compact  entered  into  among 
them,  and  based  upon  absolute  necessity,  for  that  one  of 
the  three  whom  Fortune  most  favored  to  come  to  the  aid 
of  the  other  two,  heaping  benefits  upon  them,  would  ap- 
pear to  them  a  childish  thing.  *  No,  no,  ^*  answered 
they ;  "  the  idea  is  excellent  and  we  will  adopt  it  with  all 
eagerness.*  Immediately  the  three  friends  clasped  hands 
and  vowed  that  when  the  time  came  they  would  be 
faithful  to  their  agreement.  This  pact  but  stimulated 
the  emulation  of  the  three  young  people.  They  applied 
themselves  to  their  studies  with  more  ardor  even  than 
was  demanded  of  them,  since  in  accordance  with  the 
tradition  of  the  college,  the  high  places  belong  to  those 
who  merit  them. 

Khayyam,  of  a  sweet  and  modest  nature,  was  rather 
given  to  the  contemplation  of  divine  things  than  to  the 
pleasures  of  worldly  life.  This  tendency  and  the  kind  of 
study  he  cultivated  made  of  him  a  Mystic  poet,  a  philoso- 
pher at  once  skeptical  and  fatalistic,  a  Sufi — in  a  word, 
what  most  Oriental  poets  are. 

Abdul-Kassem,  on  the  contrary,  ambitious  and  positive 
in  the  full  acceptation  of  the  word,  anxious  to  come  into 
power,  applied  himself  principally  to  the  study  of  the 
history    of    his    country,  which    presented    to    him    num- 


PREFACE  271 

erous  examples  of  celebrated  men  who,  by  their  merit 
and  courage,  had  come  into  the  highest  offices,  and 
where,  besides,  he  found  excellent  lessons  in  all  branches 
of  administration.  He  became  an  illustrious  statesman. 
As  for  Hassan-Sebbah,  as  ambitious  as  his  fellow- student 
Abdul- Kassem,  but  less  skilful,  and  more  violent  than 
he  in  the  application  of  means,  artful  and  jealous  of  the 
superiority  of  his  comrades,  he  followed  somewhere  nearly 
the  same  studies,  holding  ever  to  the  purpose  of  serving 
himself  by  the  ruin  of  all  those  who  dared  to  oppose  his 
advancement  in  the  career  he  had  chosen.  He  also  be- 
came celebrated,  as  will  be  shown  farther  on  in  this 
preface,  through  the  cruelties  he  committed  and  the  blood 
he  spilled. 

Their  studies  ended,  the  three  friends  left  college  and 
separated  to  return  to  their  own  homes,  where  they  re- 
mained a  certain  length  of  time  without  renown.  Abdul- 
Kassem,  however,  was  not  long  in  making  himself 
advantageously  known  at  the  Court  of  Alp-Arslan,  the 
second  king  of  the  dynasty  of  the  Seldjoukides,  through 
divers  writings  on  the  subject  of  administration,  and 
soon  became  the  private  secretary  of  that  monarch,  then 
under-secretary  of  State,  and  finally  Prime  Minister. 

Alp-Arslan,  in  putting  this  skilful  administrator  at 
the  head  of  affairs  in  his  empire,  conferred  upon  him 
the  honorary  title  of  Nizam-el-Moulk,  ^^  Regulator  of  the 
Empire,*  a  title  which,  among  the  Persians,  replaces 
the  name  of  the  person  to  whom  it  is  granted.  The 
historians  of  that  time  write  in  eulogy  of  this  great 
man  and,  attributing  to  his  virtues  and  his  ability  the 
success  and  prosperity  of  Alp-Arslan's  reign,  hold  in 
profound  admiration  the  discernment  of  that  monarch, 
who  knew  how  to  attach  to  himself  a  minister  endowed 
with  so  much  skill  in  directing  the  affairs  of  his  vast 
Principalities,  which  attained,  under  his  administration, 
the  highest  degree  of  glory  of  which  the  Persian  an- 
nals make  mention. 

It  was  towards  that  epoch,  where  Nizam-el-Moulk  (for 
henceforth  it  is  by  this  title  that  we  shall  designate 
him)   had   arrived   at  the   apogee   of  his   power,   that  his 


272  QUATRAINS   OF    OMAR   KHAYYAM 

two  friends  came  to  recall  to  him  the  contract  con- 
cluded amongst  them.  *^  What  do  you  demand  of  me  ? " 
he  said  to  them. 

^*I  only  ask,'^  responded  Khayyam,  ^Hhat  I  may  en- 
joy the  revenues  of  my  native  village.  I  am  a  Sufi 
and  not  ambitious;  if  you  accede  to  my  request,  I 
could,  under  my  paternal  roof,  far  from  the  inseparable 
fetters  of  the  things  of  this  world,  cultivate  poesy, 
which  delights  my  soul,  and  peaceably  contemplate  the 
works  of  the  Creator,  which  is  acceptable  to  my  mind.** 

^^As  for  me,**  said  Hassan-Sebbah,  "I  ask  a  place  at 
Court.  ** 

The  minister  granted  everything:  the  young  poet  re- 
turned to  his  village,  of  which  he  became  chief,  and 
Hassan-Sebbah  took  his  place  at  Court,  where,  crafty 
courtier  that  he  was,  he  was  not  long  in  getting  into 
the  good  graces  of  the  monarch.  But,  although  he  had 
already  acquired  the  highest  distinction  possible,  thanks 
to  the  effective  aid  of  Nizam-el-Moulk,  his  envious  and 
zealous  mind  could  not  accommodate  itself  to  the  kind 
of  submission  in  which  he  found  himself,  face  to  face 
with  his  benefactor.  He  immediately  went  to  work  to 
overturn  and  supplant  him. 

To  this  end,  he  commenced  to  insinuate  to  Alp-Arslan 
that  the  royal  finances  were  not  in  good  state,  the  minister 
having  neglected  the  collecting  of  taxes,  and  not  having 
rendered  an  account  upon  this  important  subject  for 
three  years.  The  Prince  gave  ear  to  these  treacherous 
criticisms,  and  immediately  Nizam-el-Moulk  was  sent 
for  to  Court,  where  Alp-Arslan  asked  him,  in  presence 
of  all  the  great  dignitaries,  called  together  for  this  pur- 
pose, for  a  complete  account  of  uncollected  taxes  and 
a  definite  statement  of  all  finances  of  State.  Nizam-el- 
Moulk  excused  himself  as  best  he  could  for  the  delay 
of  which  his  Majesty  complained,  on  the  ground  of  certain 
circumstances  beyond  his  control,  and  promised  to  occupy 
himself  seriously  with  the  question,  with  the  aim  of  being 
able  to  present  a  complete  accounting  in  six  months'  time. 
The  Prince  appeared  satisfied  and  allowed  the  minister 
to  retire.     But  he  had  scarcely  passed  the  sill  of  the  palace 


PREFACE  373 

door  when  Hassan-Sebbah,  approaching  the  King  re- 
marked that  if  anything  were  needed  to  prove  the 
incapacity  of  the  minister  in  a  matter  of  this  kind,  it 
was  to  be  found  precisely  in  the  extraordinary  delay  that 
he  asked  for  putting  the  finances  of  the  Empire  in  order. 
This  observation  struck  the  Prince,  who  asked  the  courtier 
making  it  if  he  wished  to  take  charge  of  this  work,  and  if 
he  would  engage  to  have  it  finished  in  a  shorter  space 
of  time.  Upon  the  affirmative  response  of  the  artful 
Hassan,  who  only  asked  for  forty  days  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  the  task,  an  order  was  given  to  Nizam-el-Moulk 
to  put  the  archives  of  the  finances  immediately  at  his 
disposition,  the  moustofis  (writings  of  the  Chief  Justice) 
and  all  the  details  of  the  management.  Hassan,  de- 
lighted at  finding  himself  so  suddenly  at  the  head  of 
the  most  important  branch  of  the  administration,  already 
considered  the  complete  ruin  of  Nizam-el-Moulk  as  as- 
sured. The  latter,  on  his  side,  perceived,  but  a  little  too 
late,  the  imprudence  he  had  been  guilty  of  in  placing 
in  so  high  a  position  a  man  whom  he  ought  to  have 
known,  and  concerning  whom  he  should  have  been  on 
his  guard.  However,  he  did  not  despair  of  frustrating, 
scheme  against  scheme,  the  well-advanced  projects  of 
his  ambitious  antagonist.  Knowing  by  experience  how 
corruptible  the  men  of  his  time  were,  and  recognizing, 
too,  the  proverbial  greediness  and  weakness  of  character 
of  the  confidant  of  Hassan-Sebbah  to  whom  the  latter  be- 
lieved it  possible  to  trust  the  work  that  he  had  undertaken 
upon  the  order  of  Alp-Arslan,  he  did  not  hesitate  to 
furnish  to  one  of  his  favorites,  upon  whose  faithfulness 
he  knew  he  could  count,  sums  large  enough  to  be  irresist- 
ible in  the  carrying  out  of  the  plan  which  he  had  con- 
ceived. 

The  favorite  of  the  minister,  a  safe  man,  accustomed  to 
this  kind  of  service,  so  skilfully  used  this  money  that  he 
was  not  long  in  winning  the  good  graces  of  Hassan's 
weak  and  interested  confidant,  and  was  thus  able  to  fur- 
nish to  his  master  all  the  information  which  he  awaited 
with  impatience,  and  of  which  he  could  make  good  use 
when  the  right  moment  was  come.  That  moment  was  the 
18 


K 


274  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 

expiration  of  the  forty  days  which  Hassan-Sebbah  had 
demanded. 

On  the  appointed  day  all  was  ready,  and  Hassan  seemed 
to  triumph;  but  Nizam-el-Moulk  had  on  that  very  day 
when  the  voluminous  record  which  his  adversary  had  pre- 
pared was  to  be  put  before  the  King  in  official  audience, 
given  his  favorite  some  final  instructions  which  should 
throw  Hassan  into  confusion.  This  faithful  and  adroit 
servitor  went  to  find  the  confidant,  whose  confidence  he 
had  gained  by  means  of  gifts,  and  begged  him  to  show 
him  the  wonderful  statement  which  Nizam-el-Moulk  had 
declared  could  not  be  finished  in  less  than  six  months, 
and  his  master  had  had  the  skill  to  complete  in  forty 
days.  Hassan's  confidant  was  occupied  at  this  moment, 
and  besides,  suspected  nothing;  he  turned  over  to  his 
friend  the  defter  —  the  bundle  of  detached  leaflets  which 
formed  the  record.  He,  putting  to  good  use  the  dis- 
traction of  the  confidant,  detached  the  defter  and,  in  the 
twinkling  of  an  eye,  confounded  the  order  of  the  leaves, 
as  his  master  had  recommended  to  him.  Then,  placing 
the  defter  on  the  carpet,  he  launched  forth  into  pompous 
eulogy  upon  the  skill  of  Hassan-Sebbah  and  of  his  worthy 
acolyte  who  had  so  actively  participated  in  this  eminent 
work.  Some  hours  afterward  Alp-Arslan  received  in 
grand  audience  his  ministers  and  officers  of  the  Empire, 
to  assist  at  the  solemn  presentation  of  the  financial  ac- 
counting of  Hassan-Sebbah. 

Nizam-el-Moulk  humbly  kept  himself  in  one  corner  of 
the  audience  hall,  awaiting  the  result  of  his  stratagem. 
Upon  the  signal  of  Alp-Arslan,  Hassan-Sebbah  deposited 
at  the  monarch's  feet  a  fhrist,  a  little  book  (an  index), 
by  means  of  which  the  Prince  could  call,  in  the  order  of 
the  provinces,  for  the  leaflets  contained  in  the  defter, 
which  Hassan-Sebbah  took  from  the  hands  of  his  trusted 
helper.  At  ths  first  call,  Hassan  sought  in  vain  the  de- 
sired leaflet.  He  was  haunted  by  treachery  and  was 
troubled ;  the  rumor  that  this  incident  provoked  in  the 
hall,  the  presence  of  the  King  who  was  irritated  at  find- 
ing such  disorder  in  a  compilation  of  this  importance, 
added   to   Hassan's   confusion,    and    he    was   immediately 


PREFACE  375 

forced  to  retire,  after  a  severe  reprimand  on  the  part  of 
Alp-Arslan.  Nizam-el-Moulk  was  avenged;  he  respect- 
fully approached  the  King  and  made  the  observation  to 
him  that  it  was  hardly  to  be  expected  that  there  would 
be  much  regularity  in  so  serious  a  work,  done  in  such 
haste  by  incapable  people. 

After  this  check,  Hassan  never  again  appeared  at  Court. 
History  tells  us  that  he  went  on  a  voyage  to  Syria,  where 
he  adopted  the  dogmas  of  the  Ishmaelite  sect,  dogmas 
that  he  resolved  to  import  into  Persia,  adding  to  them 
other  novelties  more  in  accordance  with  the  opinions  of 
the  Sufis,  then  very  numerous  in  the  kingdom,  with  the 
aim  of  forming  an  army  and  becoming  thus  a  terror 
to  his  enemies.  He  did,  in  fact,  return  to  Persia,  but 
concealed  himself  carefully,  in  order  to  escape  the  notice 
of  Nizam-el-Moulk,  whose  sentiments  towards  him  he 
suspected.  He  went  back  to  his  native  city,  Rhei,  after 
having  lived  for  some  time  at  Ispahan,  where,  emboldened 
by  the  facility  with  which  he  made  new  recruits  and 
aided  by  his  neophytes,  he  formed  no  less  a  project  than 
that  of  making  the  sovereign  himself  tremble  on  his 
throne.  At  Rhei  he  drew  around  him  some  malcontents, 
who  did  not  hesitate  to  adopt  the  dogmas  that  he  taught 
them,  and  who  declared  themselves  ready  to  second  him 
in  his  designs.  He  then  resolved  to  go,  with  a  limited 
number  of  his  disciples,  and  fortify  himself  in  the  moun- 
tain of  Alamout,  near  the  city  of  Kazbin,  where  he  com- 
menced to  make  raids  on  the  surrounding  country,  by 
means  of  which  he  provided  for  the  needs  of  the  moment 
and  prepared  an  equipment  for  his  little  troop,  which 
soon  began  to  be  formidable. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  Alp-Arslan  died,  leaving 
his  vast  estates  to  his  son,  Malek-Chah,  whom  he  strongly 
recommended  to  confide  the  administration  to  Nizam-el- 
Moulk,  his  faithful  and  pious  minister.  But  this  minister 
did  not  long  enjoy  these  new  favors.  Malek-Chah,  having 
had  the  weakness  to  lend  his  ear  to  the  calumnious  reports 
of  his  enemies,  took  away  from  him  his  turban  and  his 
inkstand,  insignia  of  the  high  functions  which  he  had 
so  nobly  fulfilled.     This  disgrace,  facilitating  a  particular 


276  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR    KHAYYAM 

vengeance,  caused  the  death  of  the  great  statesman. 
They  found  him  one  morning,  stretched  out  under  his 
tent  in  the  royal  camp,  assassinated  by  a  satellite  of 
Hassan-Sebbah.  Before  he  expired,  according  to  the  story 
of  the  chronicle,  he  had  time  to  write  a  piece  of  verse 
to  Malek-Chah,  in  which  he  recommended  to  his  benev- 
olence his  twelve  sons,  to  whom,  he  said,  he  bequeathed 
his  old  and  loyal  services. 

Hassan-Sebbah  did  not  the  less  continue  his  bloody 
excursions,  respecting  neither  rank  nor  sex,  cutting  the 
throats  of  all  that  came  under  his  hand,  without  pity. 
Malek-Chah,  frightened,  was  obliged  to  send  troops  to 
put  an  end  to  these  expeditions,  which  made  trouble  and 
confusion  in  the  whole  extent  of  the  Empire.  But 
Hassan's  followers  increased  daily,  and  soon  this  chief 
saw  himself  strong  enough  to  repulse  the  royal  troops 
in  a  vigorous  attack,  and  compel  them  to  beat  a  retreat. 
After  this  success,  Hassan  put  no  limit  to  his  exploits, 
and  acquired  such  renown  that  nothing  appeared  to  be 
able  to  resist  him. 

The  death  of  Malek-Chah  took  place  unexpectedly  soon 
after  that  of  Nizam-el-Moulk,  and  Hassan,  hastening  to 
profit  by  some  experiments  of  the  celebrated  Sultan 
Sandjar,  Malek-Chah's  successor,  there  were  incessant  wars 
in  the  different  branches  of  the  House  of  Seldjoukides, 
wars  which  prolonged  themselves  until  the  death  of 
Tougroul  HI.,  or  from  forty  to  forty-five  years.  Sultan 
Sandjar,  rightly  disturbed  at  the  progress  of  Hassan's 
invasion,  resolved  to  entirely  destroy  a  band  of  brigands 
in  his  territory,  whose  depredations  and  murders  had 
spread  terror  in  all  the  provinces.  To  this  end,  he  re- 
organized an  army  with  which  he  marched  in  person 
against  the  aggressors;  but,  arrived  at  a  certain  distance 
from  Mount  Alamout,  he  saw  one  morning,  upon  waking, 
a-  dagger  sunk  in  the  earth  near  the  bolster  of  his  bed, 
whose  blade  pierced  a  note  addressed  to  him,  where  he 
read,  with  fright,  these  words: 

^<  O  Sandjar !  know  that  if  I  had  not  wished  to  respect  your  days, 
the  hand  which  sunk  this  dagger  in  the  earth  could  as  well  have 
sunk  it  in  your  heart. » 


PREFACE  277 

It  is  said  that  the  Sultan  was  so  overcome  by  the 
reading-  of  this  note,  which  revealed  to  him  the  marvel- 
lous power  of  Hassan-Sebbah  over  his  trusty  followers, 
that  he  relinquished  for  the  time  being  his  plan  of  attack. 

But  let  us  return  to  Khayyam,  who,  remaining  a 
stranger  to  all  these  alternatives  of  wars,  intrigues,  and 
revolts  with  which  this  epoch  was  so  filled,  lived  tran- 
quilly in  his  native  village,  giving  himself  up  to  a 
passionate  study  of  the  philosophy  of  the  Sufis.  Sur- 
rounded by  numerous  friends  he  sought  with  them,  in 
study  and  entertainment,  that  ecstatic  contemplation  which 
others  believe  that  they  find  in  uttering  cries  and  screams 
until  the  voice  is  gone,  as  the  crying  dervishes  do; 
or  in  the  circular  movements  that  are  practiced  with 
frenzy  until  vertigo  ensues,  as  by  the  whirling  der- 
vishes; or  finally,  in  the  atrocious  tortures  which  the 
Hindoos  inflict  upon  themselves,  until  they  lose  conscious- 
ness. The  Persian  historians  state  that  Khayyam  loved 
especially  to  converse  and  drink  with  his  friends,  in  the 
moonlight  on  a  terrace  before  his  house,  seated  upon  a 
carpet,  surrounded  by  singers  and  musicians,  with  a  cup- 
bearer, who,  cup  in  hand,  presented  it  in  turn  to  the 
joyous  guests.  We  believe  we  cannot  better  terminate 
this  rapid  biographical  and  historic  sketch  than  in  adding 
to  the  life  and  works  of  our  poet  two  very  characteristic 
quotations. 

During  one  of  these  evenings  of  which  we  are  speaking, 
there  suddenly  came  a  gust  of  wind  which  extinguished 
the  candles  and  overturned  the  pitcher  of  wine  that  was 
imprudently  placed  too  near  the  edge  of  the  terrace.  The 
pitcher  was  broken  and  the  wine  spilled.  Immediately 
Khayyam,  irritated,  improvised  this  impious  quatrain,  ad- 
dressed to  the  All-Powerful: 

*^  Thou  hast  broken  my  pitcher  of  wine,  my  God ! 
Thus  hast  Thou  shut  upon  me  the  gate  of  joy,  O  Lord! 
It  is  I  who  drink,  and  it  is  Thou  who  committest  the 
disorder  of  drunkenness !  Oh !  (would  that  my  mouth  were 
filled  with  earth !)  couldst  Thou  be  drunk,  my  Lord  ? '' 

The  poet,  after  having  pronounced  this,  casting  his 
eyes  upon  a  mirror,  perceived  that  his  face  was  black  as 


278  QUATRAINS   OF    OMAR   KHAYYAM 

coal.  It  was  a  punishment  from  heaven.  Then  he  made 
this  other  quatrain,  not  less  audacious  than  the  first,  and 
which  expresses  in  an  absolute  manner,  the  repulsion  of 
the  poet  for  the  doctrine  of  future  punishment  written  in 
the  Koran,  and  preached  so  ardently  by  the  mullahs. 
The  Sufis  consider  this  doctrine  not  only  in  direct  oppo- 
sition to  their  own,  but  as  unworthy  the  pity  and  clem- 
ency of  the  Divinity.     Here  is  the  quatrain: 

**  What  man  here  below  has  not  sinned,  can  you  say  ? 
And  how  could  he  have  lived,  had  he  not  committed  sin, 
can  you  tell  ?  So,  if  I  do  wrong  and  you  punish  me 
wrongly,  what  is  the  difference  which  exists  between 
you  and  me,   I  ask  ?  ^^ 

But  let  us  come  to  the  complete  thought  of  the  poet 
which  deduces  itself  so  energetically  and  with  so  much 
unity  through  the  fantasy  or  the  mysticism  of  his  quat- 
rains. J.   B.   Nicolas. 

Note. —  The  Translator,  being  unfortunately  familiar  with  at  least 
seven  translations  and  paraphrases  of  Omar,  has  found  it  by  no 
means  easy  to  expunge  from  memory  the  various  renderings  of  the 
text.  This  <<  sponging  out>*  was  necessary  in  order  that  a  faithful 
presentation  of  Nicolas'  version  of  Omar  should  be  made.  With 
this  comment,  he  leaves  the  translation  to  be  judged  on  its  possible 
merit,  adding  only  this  —  that,  declining  metre  (Fitzgerald's  own 
domain),  he  has  sought  to  clothe  the  prose  in  verbal  sonance  which 
should  not  disguise  or  mar  the  inherent  music  of  the  Omarian  brook. 
Fidelity  to  the  text,  however,  has  been  the  first  consideration. 

R.  A. 


THE    QUATRAINS     OF    OMAR     KHAYYAM 


I. 


One  morning,  coming  from  the  tavern  I  heard  a  voice 
which  said:  Come,  joyous  drinkers,  youthful  fools,  arise, 
and  fill  with  me  a  cup  of  wine,  ere  Fate  shall  come  to 
fill  the  cup  of  our  existence. 


O  Thou  who  in  the  universe  art  the  object  chosen 
of  my  heart!  Thou  who  art  more  dear  than  the  soul 
which  gives  me  life,  than  the  eyes  which  give  me  light! 
O  Idol,  though  in  life  there  be  no  thing  more  precious 
than  this  life.  Thou  art  indeed  a  hundred  times  more 
precious  than  that  life. 


Who  led  thee  here  this  night,  thus  given  up  to  wine  ? 
Who,  indeed,  raising  the  veil  which  hid  thee,  has  been 
able  to  lead  thee  here  ?  Who,  finally,  brought  thee  as 
rapidly  as  the  wind  which  fans  the  fire  that  still  burned 
in  thy  absence  ? 


We  meet  but  chagrin  and  misfortune  in  this  world, 
which  serves  us  as  a  tent  for  the  time.  Alas!  No  prob- 
lem of  creation  has  been  solved  for  us,  and  behold!  we 
leave  it  with  hearts  full  of  regret  at  knowing  naught 
about  it. 

(279) 


28o  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


O  Khadja,  give  us  lawfully  a  single  one  of  our  desires; 
reserve  thy  breath  and  lead  us  into  the  way  of  God. 
Surely  we  walk  aright;  it  is  thou  that  seest  crosswise; 
heal,  then,  thine  eyes  and  leave  us  here   in  peace. 


6. 

Come,  come,  arise,  and,  for  the  healing  of  my  heart, 
one  problem  solve  for  me :  yet  quickly  bring  me  a  pitcher 
of  wine,  and  let  us  drink  before  they  make  pitchers  out 
of  our  own  dust. 


When  I  am  dead,  wash  me  with  the  juice  of  the  vine ; 
in  place  of  prayer,  .sing  above  my  tomb  the  praise  of 
the  cup  and  the  wine;  and,  if  you  would  find  me  again 
at  the  day  of  doom,  seek  me  in  the  dust  of  the  tavern 
floor 


8. 

Since  no  one  has  ever  been  able  to  answer  thee  from 
one  day  to  the  next,  hasten  to  glad  thy  heart  filled  with 
sadness.  Drink,  O  adorable  Moon !  drink  from  thy  silver 
cup,  for  long  shalt  thou  turn  in  the  firmament  without 
finding  us  here  again. 


TRANSLATION  OF  THE  NICOLAS  TEXT 


Would  that  the  lover  [the  true  believer]  were  intoxi- 
cated the  whole  year,  mad,  absorbed  with  wine,  covered 
with  dishonor!  For,  when  we  have  sound  reason,  chagrin 
assails  us  on  all  sides;  but  when  we  are  in  wine,  well, 
let  come  what  will! 


lO. 

In  Heaven's  name!  with  what  hope  does  the  sage  attach 
his  heart  to  the  illusory  treasures  of  this  palace  of  mis- 
fortune ?  Oh !  that  the  One  who  gave  me  the  name  of 
drunkard  would  recant  his  error,  for  how  can  he  see  the 
tavern's  sign  from  his  exalted  abode. 


II. 

The  Koran,  which  is  but  a  name  for  The  Sublime 
Word,  is,  however,  read  only  from  time  to  time  and  not 
with  constancy;  while  ever  on  the  brim  of  the  cup 
is  found  a  verse  full  of  light  which  one  can  read  always 
and  everywhere. 


12, 

Thou  that  drinkest  not  wine  shouldst  not  for  this  rea- 
son blame  the  drunkard,  for  I  am  ready  to  renounce  God, 
myself,  should  He  order  me  to  renounce  wine.  Thou 
glorifiest  thyself  for  not  drinking  wine,  but  such  glory 
but  ill  befits  those  who  commit  acts  a  hundredfold  more 
reprehensible  than  drunkenness. 


282  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


13- 

Though  my  body  be  beautiful,  and  the  perfume  it  ex- 
hales agreeable,  though  the  color  of  my  face  rival  that 
of  the  tulip,  and  my  figure  be  supple  as  the  cypress, 
it  has  not  been  demonstrated  why  my  celestial  author 
placed  me  upon  this  earth. 


14. 

I  would  drink  so  much  wine  that  the  odor  should  come 
out  of  the  earth  when  I  have  been  returned  to  it,  and 
that  drinkers  who  wish  to  visit  my  tomb  may  fall 
senseless  from  the  sole   effect  of  this  odor. 


IS- 

In  the  region  of  hope,  form  as  many  friends  as  you 
can;  in  the  time  of  existence,  bind  yourself  to  a  perfect 
friend,  for,  know  well  that  a  hundred  Kaabas,  made 
of  earth  and  water,  are  not  worth  one  heart.  Leave, 
then,  thy  Kaabas  and  rather  seek  a  heart. 


16. 

When  I  take  in  my  hand  a  cup  of  wine  and,  in  the 
joy  of  my  soul,  become  intoxicate,  then,  in  that  state  of 
fire  which  devours  me,  I  see  a  hundred  miracles  grow 
real,  and  words,  clear  as  the  most  limpid  water,  come  to 
explain  the  mystery  of  all  things. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE  NICOLAS  TEXT         283 


17. 

Since  the  duration  of  a  day  is  only  two  stages,  make 
haste  to  drink  wine,  the  limpid  wine;  for  know  well 
that  you  near  the  end  of  your  vanishing  existence.  And, 
since  you  know  that  this  world  drags  all  to  decay, 
be  wise,  and,  also,  day  and  night  be  drenched  in  wine. 


18. 

We  who  give  ourselves  up  to  the  will  of  wine  offei 
with  joy  our  souls  in  holocaust  to  the  laughing  Hps  of 
the  juice  divine.  Oh!  rapturous  sight!  Our  cup-bearer 
holds  in  one  hand  the  neck  of  the  flask  and  in  the  other 
the  cup  overflowing,  as  if  inviting  us  to  receive  the 
purest  of  the  blood! 


19. 

Yes,  we,  seated  in  the  midst  of  this  treasure  in  ruins, 
surrounded  by  wine  and  dancers,  have  put  in  pawn  [in 
order  to  procure  them]  all  that  we  possess:  soul,  heart, 
goods  — everything  but  the  cup.  We  are  thus  freed  from 
hope  of  pardon  and  fear  of  punishment.  We  are  beyond 
the  air,  the  earth,  and  fire  and  water. 


30. 


The  distance  which  separates  incredulity  from  faith  is 
but  a  breath,— that  which  separates  doubt  from  certainty 
is  equally  but  a  breath.  Let  us,  then,  pass  this  precious 
space  of  a  breath  gaily,  for  our  life  also  is  only  sepa- 
rated  [from  death]  by  the  space  of  a  breath. 


284  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


O  Wheel  of  Destiny!  destruction  comes  of  thy  implac- 
able hate.  Tyranny  for  thee  is  an  act  of  predilection 
which  thou  hast  committed  from  the  commencement  of 
centuries;  and  thou,  also,  O  Earth,  if  one  search  in  thy 
bosom,  what  inappreciable  treasures  will  he  not  find  there ! 


My  turn  of  existence  has  slipped  around  in  a  few  days. 
It  has  passed  as  passes  the  wind  over  the  desert.  Then, 
while  remains  to  me  a  breath  of  life,  two  days  shall 
be  for  which  I  never  need  be  troubled,  the  day  which 
has  not  come  and  that  which  now  has  passed. 


23- 

This  priceless  ruby  comes  from  a  mine  of  its  own,  this 
rare  pearl  is  pregnant  with  a  character  its  own;  our 
different  dogmas  on  this  matter  are  erroneous,  since  the 
enigma  of  perfect  love  is  explained  in  a  language  of  its 
own  [and  that  is  not  conveyed  to  us]. 


24. 

Since  to-day  is  my  turn  for  youth,  I  intend  to  pass  it 
in  drinking  wine,  for  that  is  my  pleasure.  Begin  not  to 
talk  of  its  bitterness,  to  speak  ill  of  this  delicious  juice, 
for  it  is  agreeable,  and  is  only  bitter  because  it  enforces 
the  bitterness  of  my  life. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS  TEXT  285 


25. 

O  my  poor  heart!  Since  thy  lot  is  to  be  bruised  to 
death  by  chag-rin,  since  nature  wills  that  thou  be  wounded 
each  day  with  some  new  torment,  tell  me,  O  my  soul, 
why  stay  you  in  my  body,  since  you  must  finally  leave 
it  some  day  ? 


26. 

Thou  canst  not  count  to-day  on  seeing  the  day  after 
to-morrow;  even  to  think  of  this  to-morrow  would  be  the 
part  of  folly;  if  thy  heart  is  awakened,  lose  not  in  inac- 
tion this  instant  of  life  [which  remains  to  thee]  and  for 
the  duration  of  which  I  see  no  warranty. 


27. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  knock  at  every  door  unless  there 
be  a  reason  for  it.  It  is  better  to  accommodate  oneself 
to  the  good  and  the  bad  here  below,  for  hereafter  we 
can  only  enjoy  the  number  of  moves  which  destiny  pre- 
sents upon  the  chessboard  of  this  terrestrial  ball. 


28. 

This  jug  [earthen  vessel]  has  been,  like  me,  a  loving 
and  unhappy  creature;  it  has  sighed  for  a  lock  of  some 
young  beauty's  hair;  this  handle  that  you  see  attached  to 
its  neck  was  an  amorous  arm  passed  about  the  neck  of 
some  girl. 


286  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


29. 

Before  your  time  or  mine,  there  were  many  twilights, 
many  dawns,  and  it  is  not  without  reason  that  the  move- 
ment of  rotation  is  enforced  upon  the  heavens.  Be  care- 
ful as  you  place  your  foot  upon  this  dust,  for  it  has, 
without  doubt,  formed  the  eyes  of  someone  young  and  fair. 


30- 

The  temple  of  idols  and  the  Kaaba  are  places  of 
adoration ;  the  chime  of  the  bells  is  but  a  hymn  chanted  to 
the  praise  of  the  All-Powerful.  The  ineJirab  [Mohammedan 
pulpit],  the  church,  the  chapel,  the  cross  are,  in  truth, 
but  different  stations  for  rendering  homage  to  the  Deity. 


31- 

Existing  things  were  already  predestined  upon  the 
tablet  of  creation.  The  brush  [of  the  universe]  did  not 
paint  good  and  bad.  With  destiny  God  imprinted  what- 
ever should  be  so  imprinted,  and  the  efforts  that  we 
make  in  these  directions  are  wholly  lost. 


32- 

I  can  but  vaguely  tell  my  secret  to  the  bad  or  to  the 
good.  I  cannot  elaborate  or  explain  my  thought,  which 
is  essentially  brief.  I  see  a  place  of  which  I  can  only 
trace  a  description ;  I  possess  a  secret  which  I  cannot  un- 
veil. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS   TEXT  287 


33. 

False  money  is  not  current  among  us.  The  broom  has 
rid  our  joyous  dwelling  of  it  completely.  An  old  man, 
returning  from  the  tavern,  said  to  me:  Drink  wine,  my 
friend,  for  other  lives  shall  follow  yours  in  your  long 
sleep. 


34- 

In  the  face  of  the  decrees  of  Providence,  nothing  avails 
but  resignation.  Among  men  nothing  avails  but  seeming 
and  hypocrisy.  I  have  employed  every  ruse,  the  strong- 
est that  the  human  mind  can  invent,  but  destiny  has  al- 
ways overturned  my  projects. 


35- 

If  a  stranger  shows  you  fidelity,  consider  him  as  a  kins- 
man; but  if  a  kinsman  endeavors  to  betray  you,  regard 
him  as  an  enemy.  If  poison  cures  you,  consider  it  an 
antidote,  and  if  the  antidote  does  not  agree  with  you, 
regard  it  as  a  poison. 


36. 

Except  Thy  absence  there  is  nothing  of  worth  that  can 
bruise  to  the  quick;  he  cannot  be  acute  who  is  not  taken 
with  Thy  subtle  charms,  and,  although  there  exist  in 
Thy  mind  no  care  for  any  one,  there  is  none  who  may 
not  be  preoccupied  with  Thee. 


288  QUATRAINS   OF    OMAR   KHAYYAM 


37- 

As  long  as  I  am  not  drunk,  my  happiness  is  incom- 
plete. When  I  am  overcome  with  wine,  ignorance  re- 
places my  reason.  But  there  exists  an  intermediary  state 
between  drunkenness  and  sound  reason.  Oh!  with  what 
happiness  do  I  enslave  myself  to  such  a  state,  since  in  it 
there  is  life! 


38. 

Who  will  believe  that  He  who  fashioned  the  cup  could 
think  of  destroying  it  ?  All  these  beautiful  heads,  all 
these  beautiful  arms,  all  these  dainty  hands,  are  by  what 
love  created  and  by  what  hate  destroyed  ? 


39- 

It  is  the  effect  of  thy  ignorance  which  makes  thee  fear 
death  and  abhor  annihilation,  for  it  is  evident  that  from 
this  annihilation  shoots  up  a  branch  of  immortality. 
Since  my  soul  has  been  revived  by  the  breath  of  Jesus, 
eternal  death  has  fled  far  from  me. 


40. 

Imitate  the  tulip  which  flowers  at  New-year's;  take,  like 
her,  a  cup  in  thy  hand  and,  if  the  occasion  presents  itself, 
drink,  drink  of  wine  in  happiness  with  some  fair  girl 
whose  cheeks  are  tinted  with  the  color  of  this  flower,  for 
this  blue  wheel  [dome],  like  a  breath  of  wind,  can  sud- 
denly overturn  thee. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS   TEXT  289 


41- 

Since  things  are  not  allowed  to  come  to  pass  as  we  de- 
sire, to  what  purpose  are  our  designs  and  our  efforts  ? 
We  are  constantly  tormenting  ourselves,  speaking  to  our- 
selves with  sighs  of  regret.  Ah!  we  have  arrived  too  late; 
too  soon  will  it  be  necessary  for  us  to  depart! 


42. 

Since  the  celestial  wheel  and  that  of  destiny  have  never 
been  favorable,  what  matters  it  whether  we  are  able  to 
count  seven  heavens  or  believe  that  there  are  eight  ? 
There  are  [  I  repeat  it  ]  two  days  for  which  I  need  not 
care;  the  day  which  has  not  come  and  that  which  now 
is  gone. 


43- 

O  Khayyam !  why  so  much  sorrow  for  a  sin  committed  ? 
What  comfort  more  or  less  do  you  find  in  this  self-tor- 
ment ?  He  who  has  not  sinned  cannot  enjoy  the  sweet- 
ness of  pardon.  It  is  for  sin  that  pardon  must  exist;  in 
that   event  why   entertain   a  fear  ? 


44. 

No  one  has  access  to  the  secrets  of  God  behind  the 
mysterious  curtain;  no  one  [even  in  mind]  can  pene- 
trate there;  we  have  no  other  dwelling  than  the  earthly 
mind.  Oh,  regret!  for  this  also  is  an  enigma  not  less 
difficult  to  comprehend. 
19 


290  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


45- 

Long  time  have  I  delved  in  this  inconstant  world,  this 
momentary  shelter;  and  in  my  searches  have  employed 
all  faculties  with  which  I  am  endowed.  Ah,  well!  and  I 
have  found  the  moon  to  pale  before  the  light  of  Thy 
visage,  that  the  cypress  is  deformed  beside  Thy  beauteous 
form. 


46» 

In  the  mosque,  in  the  medressek  [school  annexed  to 
the  mosque  ],  in  the  church,  and  in  the  synagogue,  they 
have  a  horror  of  Hell  and  seek  for  Paradise ;  but  the  seed 
of  such  disquiet  never  germinates  in  the  hearts  of  those 
who  penetrate  the  secrets  of  the  All-Powerful. 


47. 

You  have  traveled  over  the  world!  Ah,  well!  all  that 
you  have  seen  is  nothing;  all  that  you  have  seen  and  all 
that  you  have  heard  are  equally  nothing.  You  have  gone 
from  one  end  of  the  universe  to  the  other,  all  that  is 
nothing;  you  have  summed  it  all  up  in  one  corner  of  your 
room,  all  that  is  nothing,  still  nothing. 


48. 

One  night  I  saw  in  thought  a  sage  who  said  to  me: 
Sleep,  O  my  friend,  has  never  caused  the  rose  of  happi- 
ness to  bloom  for  anyone ;  why  lend  yourself  to  aught  so 
similar  to  death  ?  Rather  drink  wine,  for  you  will  sleep 
enough  when  buried  in  the  earth. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS  TEXT  291 


49- 

Had  the  human  heart  an  exact  knowledge  of  the  se- 
crets of  life,  it  would  also  know,  at  the  point  of  death, 
the  secrets  of  God.  If  to-day,  when  you  are  with  your- 
self, you  know  nothing,  what  will  you  know  to-morrow 
when  you  shall  be  separated  from  yourself  ? 


50. 

The  day  when  the  heavens  shall  be  confounded,  when 
the  stars  shall  be  obscured,  I  will  stop  Thee  upon  Thy 
way,  O  Idol!  and,  taking  Thee  by  the  hem  of  Thy  robe, 
will  ask  of  Thee  why  Thou  hast  robbed  me  of  life  [after 
giving  it  to  me]. 


51. 

We  should  tell  no  secrets  to  the  vilely  indiscreet ;  from 
the  nightingale,  even,  should  we  conceal  them.  Consider, 
then,  the  torment  you  inflict  on  human  souls  by  forcing 
them  to  disrobe  thus  before  the  gaze  of  all. 


52- 

O  Cupbearer!  since  time  is  here,  ready  to  break  down 
you  and  me,  this  world  for  neither  you  nor  me  can  be  a 
place  of  permanence.  But,  equally,  be  well  convinced 
that  while  this  jug  of  wine  is  here  'twixt  you  and  me, 
our  God  is  in  our  hands. 


292  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


53 

Long  time,  indeed,  with  cup  in  hand,  I  walked  among 
the  flowers;  nevertheless  none  of  my  projects  has  been 
realized  in  this  world.  But,  although  wine  has  not  led 
me  to  the  goal  of  my  desires,  I  will  not  stray  from  its 
path,  for  when  one  follows  a  road  he  cannot  retrogress. 


54- 

Put  a  cup  of  wine  in  my  hand,  for  my  heart  is  in- 
flamed, and  my  life  slips  away  as  quicksilver.  Arise, 
then,  for  the  favors  of  fortune  are  only  a  dream;  arise, 
for  the  fire  of  thy  youth  is  running  away  like  the  water 
of  a  torrent. 


55- 

We  are  the  idolaters  of  love,  but  the  Musulman  differs 
from  us;  we  are  like  the  pitiful  ant,  but  Salomon  is  our 
foe.  Our  visages  should  aye  be  paled  with  love,  and  our 
apparel  in  rags,  and  yet  the  mart  for  silken  stuffs  is  here 
below. 


56. 

To  drmk  wine  and  rejoice  is  my  gospel  of  life.  To 
be  as  indifferent  to  heresy  as  to  religion  is  my  creed.  I 
asked  the  bride  of  the  human  race  [the  world]  what  her 
dowry  was,  and  she  answered:  My  dowry  consists  in  the 
joy  of  my  heart. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS   TEXT  293 


57- 

I  am  worthy  neither  of  Hell  nor  a  celestial  abode ;  God 
knows  from  what  clay  he  has  moulded  me.  Heretical  as 
a  dervish  and  foul  as  a  lost  woman,  I  have  neither 
wealth,  nor  fortune,  nor  hope  of  Paradise. 


58. 

Thy  passion,  man,  resembles  in  all  things  a  house  dog 
which  never  leaves  his  kennel.  It  has  the  slyness  of  the 
fox,  it  lies  low  like  a  hare,  and  to  the  rage  of  the  tiger 
adds  the  voracity  of  a  wolf. 


59- 

How  beautiful  they  are,  these  different  greens  which 
mingle  on  the  edge  of  a  brook!  One  thinks  they  must 
have  had  their  birth  upon  the  lips  of  one  divinely  fair. 
Place  not  thy  foot  upon  them  with  disdain;  they  spring 
from  dust  which,  once  a  face,  was  tinted  with  the  colors 
of  a  rose. 


60. 

Each  heart  that  God  illumines  with  the  light  of 
love,  as  it  frequents  the  mosque  or  synagogue,  inscribes 
its  name  upon  the  book  of  love,  and  is  set  free  from 
fear  of  Hell  while  it  awaits  the  joys  of  Paradise. 


294  QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 


6i. 

A  cup  of  wine  is  better  than  the  kingdom  of  Kawous, 
and  preferable  to  Kobad's  throne  or  to  the  realm  of 
Thous.  The  sighs  to  which,  at  dawn,  a  lover  is  the  prey 
are  sweeter  than  the  groans  of  praying  hypocrites. 


62. 

Though  sin  hath  made  me  ugly  and  forlorn,  not  with- 
out hope  am  I  like  some  idolater  relying  on  his  temple 
gods.  So,  on  the  morn  I  die  of  yesternight's  carouse, 
give  me  some  wine  and  call  the  one  Beloved,  for  Hell 
and  Paradise  are  one  to  me. 


63. 

If  I  drink  wine  'tis  not  for  mere  desire;  nor  for  the 
rousing  of  the  mob  or  insult  to  the  Faith.  No,  'tis  for  a 
passing  knowledge  of  relief  from  self.  No  other  motive 
could  enwreath  the  cup. 


64. 

Men  claim  fore-knowledge,  predicating  Hell  or  Heaven. 
How  plain  their  fault!  How  asinine  their  faith!  For 
know  that  if  all  lovers  of  the  fair  and  of  the  cup  deserve 
a  Hell,  then  Paradise  will  be  a  void. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE  NICOLAS  TEXT         295 


65. 

In  Cheeban  [a  month]  I  must  not  embrace  the  vine ;  in 
Redjeb  I  am  consecrate  to  Him.  By  right  these  sixty- 
suns  to  Allah  and  his  Prophet  are  assigned:  let  Ramazan 
in  mercy  bring  the  cooling  cup  again. 


66. 


Now  Ramazan  has  come,  the  vintage  passed,  and 
pledging  of  the  cup  and  simple  customs  are  afar.  Yet 
full  the  wine  pots  are,  and  still  untouched,  and  houris  wait 
for  us  in  fond  suspense. 


67. 

This  rolling  hostelry  we  call  the  world,  where  light  and 
darkness  alternate,  is  but  the  ruin  of  a  Jamshid's  enter- 
tainment of  a  hundred  Kings,  or  e'en  a  faint  memento 
of  a  host  of  hunters  like  to  Bahram's  self. 


68. 


To-day  when  fortune's  rose  is  burgeoning,  fill  high  the 
cup.  Drink  deep,  O  friend,  drink  deep,  for  time  is  not 
thy  friend  or  ever  willingly  repeats  a  day  like  this. 


296  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


69. 

This  palace  where  great  Bahrain  loved  to  drink  now 
herds  the  young  gazelle,  and  in  it  lions  sleep.  Where 
Bahram  snared  the  swift  wild  ass,  the  snare  of  Time  has 
in  its  turn  snared  him. 


70. 

The  clouds  expand  and  weep  upon  the  earth.  No 
longer  can  we  live  without  the  amaranthine  cup.  The 
tender  green  glads  weary  eyes  to-day,  but  oh!  that  em- 
erald verdure  growing  from  our  dust,  whose  sight  will  it 
rejoice  ? 


71. 

To-day,  which  we  call  Adine  [Wednesday],  leave 
the  tiny  cup  and  drink  wine  from  a  bowl.  If  other  days 
you  drank  but  one  fair  bowl,  to-day  drink  two,  for  Adine 
ranks  its  fellow  days,  save  one. 


72. 


O  heart!  since  this  world  makes  you  sad,  since  souls 
so  pure  must  leave  the  tenement  of  clay,  go,  sit  upon 
the  verdure  of  the  field  sometimes,  ere  verdure  springs 
in  turn  from  your  own  dust. 


TRANSLATION  OF   THE   NICOLAS  TEXT  297 


73- 

This  wine,  which  by  its  nature  hath  a  multitude  of 
forms,  which  now  is  animal  and  now  is  plant,  can  never 
cease  to  be,  for  its  imperishable  self  ordains  a  lasting 
life  though  forms  may  disappear. 


74. 

No  smoke  ascends  above  my  holocaust  of  crime:  could 
man  ask  more  ?  This  hand,  which  man's  injustice  raises 
to  my  head,  no  comfort  brings,  even  though  it  touch  the 
hem  of  saintly  robes. 


75- 

The  one  on  whom  you  surely  most  rely,  will  be  your 
enemy,  if  but  you  cleanse  the  eyes  that  are  within.  Far 
better,  for  the  short  time  which  remains,  to  count  but 
little  on  our  friends.  The  talk  of  men  to-day  is  but  a 
broken  reed. 


76. 

O  heedless  man !  this  veil  of  flesh  is  naught ;  this  nine- 
fold vault  of  brilliant  heaven  is  naught.  Then  give  thy- 
self to  joy  in  this  disordered  place  [the  world],  for  life  is 
but  an  instant  wed  to  it,  and  that  is  equally  naught. 


298  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


77- 

Now  bring  me  dancers,  wine,  and  a  houri  with  charm- 
ing, ravishing  features  —  if  houris  there  be.  Or  find  a 
beautiful  brook  within  a  green  ravine,  if  such  there  be. 
Ask  nothing  better;  think  no  more  of  Hell's  hot  penal- 
ties, for,  verily,  none  is,  nor  any  Paradise  more  fair  than 
that  I  sing,  if  Paradise  there  be. 


78. 

Came  an  old  man  from  out  the  tavern  drunk,  his 
prayer-rug  on  his  shoulders  and  a  bowl  of  wine  in 
hand.  I  said  to  him :  Aged  man !  what  meaneth  this  ? 
He  answered  me :  Drink  wine,  my  friend,  for  this  world 
is  naught  but  wind. 


79- 

A  nightingale,  inebriate  [with  love  of  the  rose],  within 
a  garden  saw  the  roses  laughing  with  a  cup  of  wine.  To 
me  he  came  and  whispered  in  my  ear,  in  tones  appropriate 
to  the  circumstance:  Be  on  thy  guard,  my  friend;  one 
cannot  hold  the  life  that  slips  away. 


8o. 

Naught  is  thy  body  but  a  tent,  Khayyam :  thy  soul  is 
its  inhabitant,  and  its  last,  long  home  annihilation  is. 
When  thy  soul  leaves  the  tent,  the  slaves  arise  and 
strike   it  ere  they  pitch  it  for  the   oncoming  soul. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS  TEXT  299 


81. 

Khayyam,  who  sewed  the  tents  of  philosophic  lore,  is 
suddenly  engulfed  within  the  crucible  of  grief,  and  there 
is  burned.  The  shears  of  Fate  have  cut  the  thread  of 
his  existence;  the  Auctioneer  of  Life  has  sold  him  for 
a  song. 


82. 

In  springtime  let  me  sit  upon  the  edge  of  a  broad 
field  with  one  fair  girl,  and  wine  in  plenty  if  wine  is  at 
hand.  Though  this  may  culpable  be  thought,  I  should 
be  worse   than   any  dog   did  I  not  dream   of  Paradise. 


83. 

Rose-colored  wine  in  crystal  cups  delights.  It  charms 
when  sipped  to  lutes'  melodious  airs  or  to  the  plaintive 
throbbing  of  the  harp.  The  devotee  who  knows  not  of 
the  joy  that  is  in  wine  is  charming  [to  himself]  or 
when   a  thousand  miles  between  us  yawn. 


84. 

The  time  we  pass  in  this  world  has  no  worth  without 
the  wine-cup  and  the  wine.  It  also  needs  the  swelling 
sound  of  Irak's  flute.  Incessant  watching  of  things  here 
below  has  told  me  that  in  pleasure  and  in  joy  alone  are 
worth:  the  rest  is  naught. 


300  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


85. 

Be  on  thy  guard,  my  friend,  for  soon  thou  wilt  be 
separate  from  thy  soul;  thou  then  shalt  go  behind  the 
curtain  of  God's  secrecy.  Drink,  for  thou  knowest  not 
whence  thou  here  hast  come;  make  haste,  for  thou  art 
ignorant  where  thou  shalt  go. 


86. 

Since  we  must  die,  why  do  we  live  ?  Why  agonize  to 
reach  a  problematic  bliss  ?  Since,  for  some  unknown 
cause,  we  may  not  here  remain,  why  not  concern  our- 
selves about  the  future  pilgrimage  ?  Why  disregard  our 
fate? 


87. 

Occasion  makes  me  sing  the  praise  of  wine  when  I  sur- 
round myself  with  men  and  things  I  love.  O  Devotee! 
canst  thou  be  happy  here  below  knowing  that  wisdom  is 
your  Lord  ?  Then  know,  at  least,  that  wisdom  is  my 
slave. 


88. 

The  world  will  ever  count  me  as  depraved.  Natheless 
I  am  not  guilty,  Men  of  Holiness !  Look  on  yourselves 
and  question  what  you  are.  Ye  say  I  contravene  the 
Koran's  law.  Y'et  I  have  only  known  the  sins  of  drunk- 
enness,   debauchery  and  leasing. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS   TEXT  301 


89. 

Free  yourselves  from  your  own  passions  and  insatiate 
greed  and  lo!  you  shall  go  out  poor  as  a  mendicant. 
Look,  rather,  unto  what  you  are,  whence  you  have  come, 
and  learn  what  you  are  doing  and  where  bound. 


90. 

The  universe  is  but  a  point  in  our  poor  round  of  life; 
the  Djeihoun  [Oxus]  but  a  feeble  trace  of  tears  and 
blood;  Hell  but  a  spark  of  useless  worry  which  we  give 
ourselves,  and  Paradise  an  instant  of  repose,  which  here 
below  we  rarely  catch. 


91. 

A  slave  in  dire  revolt  am  I :  where  is  Thy  will  ?  Black 
with  all  sin  my  heart:  where  is  Thy  light  and  Thy  con- 
trol? If  Thou  giv'st  Paradise  to  our  obedience  alone 
[to  Thy  laws],  it  is  a  debt  of  which  Thou  quit'st 
Thyself  and  in  such  case  we  need  Thy  pity  and  benev- 
olence. 


92. 

I  know  not  at  all  whether  He  who  created  me  belongs 
to  a  delicious  Paradise  or  a  detestable  Hell.  [But  I  do 
know]  that  a  cup  of  wine,  a  charming  girl  and  a  zither 
at  the  edge  of  a  green  field  are  three  things  which  I  en- 
joy at  present,  and  that  you  will  find  them  in  the  prom- 
ise that  is  made  you  of  a  future  Paradise. 


302  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


93- 

I  driirk  wine,  and  those  who  are  opposed  to  it  come 
from  the  left  and  from  the  right  to  ask  me  to  abstain 
from  it,  because,  say  they,  wine  is  an  enemy  of  religion. 
But,  for  that  very  reason  I  would  drink  it,  now  that  I 
hold  myself  an  adversary  of  faith,  because  we  are  per- 
mitted by  God  to  drink  the  blood  of  an  enemy. 


94- 

The  light  of  the  moon  has  cut  the  black  robe  of  night : 
drink  then  of  wine,  for  one  finds  not  often  moments  so 
precious.  Yes,  abandon  thyself  to  joy,  for  this  same 
moon  will  shine  over  the  surface  of  the  earth  a  long  time 
[after  our  day]. 


95- 

Impute  not  to  the  wheel  of  the  heavens  all  the  good 
and  all  the  bad  which  are  in  man,  all  the  joys  and  sorrows 
which  come  to  us  by  destiny;  for  this  wheel,  friend,  is 
a  thousand  times  more  embarrassed  than  thou,  in  the  path 
of  love   [divine]. 


96. 

There  is  no  shield  which  is  proof  against  an  arrow 
hurled  by  Destiny.  Grandeur,  money,  gold  all  go  for 
nothing.  The  more  I  consider  the  things  of  this  world, 
the  more  I  see  that  the  only  good  is  good;  all  else  is 
nothing. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS   TEXT  303 


97- 

A  heart  which  does  not  contain  in  itself  complete  ab- 
stinence [from  things  here  below]  is  to  be  pitied,  for  it  is 
at  all  times  the  prey  of  regret.  It  is  only  the  heart  free 
from  care  that  can  be  joyous;  all  that  exists  beyond  this 
is  but  a  subject  of  torment. 


98. 

He  who  has  had  the  intelligence  to  sow  joy  in  his 
heart  has  not  lost  a  single  day  in  sorrow ;  he  has  employed 
his  faculties  in  seeking  the  will  of  God,  or  has  procured 
repose  for  his  soul  by  taking  a  cup  of  wine. 


99. 

When  God  fashioned  the  clay  of  my  body,  he  knew 
what  would  be  the  result  of  my  acts.  It  is  not  without 
His  orders  that  I  have  committed  the  sins  of  which  I  am 
guilty;  in  that  case,  why  should  I  burn  in  hell-fire  at 
the  last  day  ? 


If  thou  hast  drunk  wine  every  consecutive  day  of  the 
week,  take  care  not  to  deprive  thyself  of  it  on  Wednes- 
day, for,  according  to  our  religion,  there  is  no  difference 
between  this  day  and  Saturday.  Be  an  adorer  of  the  All- 
Powerful  and  not  an  adorer  of  days. 


304  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


lOI. 


O  my  God!  Thou  art  merciful,  and  mercy  is  kind- 
ness. Why  then  has  the  first  sinner  been  thrown  out  of 
the  terrestrial  Paradise  ?  If  Thou  pardonest  me  when 
I  obey  Thee,  it  is  not  mercy.  Mercy  is  present  only 
when  Thou  pardonest  me  as  the  sinner  that  I  am. 


I02. 


Leave  knowledge  and  take  the  cup  in  thy  hand.  Dis- 
turb thyself  not  about  Paradise  or  Hell,  but  seek  rather 
the  Koocer  [the  celestial  river  of  wine].  Sell  thy  silken 
turban  to  buy  wine  and  have  no  more  fear.  Rid  thyself 
of  that  head-dress  and  envelop  thy  head  in  a  simple  woolen 
band  [emblem  of  Sufism]. 


103. 

Tell  me,  friend,  have  I  acquired  riches  in  this  world  ? 
No.  Have  I  given  myself  up  to  time  as  it  was  slipping 
away  ?  No.  I  am  the  torch  of  joy ;  but  that  torch  once 
extinguished,  I  am  nothing.  I  am  the  cup  of  Djem  [the 
royal  cup],  but  that  cup  once  broken,  I  am  no  longer 
anything. 


104. 

Where  are  the  dancers  ?  Where  is  the  wine  ?  Quick ! 
that  I  may  do  honor  to  the  gourd!  Happy  the  heart 
who  remembers  his  morning  cup!  Oh!  there  are  three 
things  in  this  world  which  are  dear  to  me :  a  head  lost  in 
wine,  an  amorous  girl,  and  the  noise  of  the  dawn. 


TRANSLATION   OF  THE   NICOLAS  TEXT  305 


105. 

Since  life  so  soon  slips  away,  what  matters  it  whether 
it  be  sweet  or  bitter  ?  Since  the  soul  must  pass  through 
the  lips,  what  matters  whether  it  be  at  Nishapur  or  at 
Balkh  ?  Drink  then  of  wine,  for  after  thee  and  me,  the 
moon  will  long-  pass  on  from  its  last  quarter  to  its  first, 
and  from  the  first  to  last. 


106. 

This  caravan  of  life  passes  in  curious  guise !  Be  on  thy 
guard,  my  friend,  for  it  is  joy  that  thus  escapes!  Dis- 
turb not  thyself  with  the  sorrow  which  to-morrow  waits 
our  friends,  and  bring  me  my  cup  quickly,  for  the  night 
fast  slips  away! 


107. 

He  who  has  made  the  foundations  of  the  world,  the 
wheel  of  the  heavens,  how  He  has  crucified  the  heart  of 
man  with  affliction !  How  many  ruby-colored  lips  has  He 
buried  in  this  little  globe  of  earth!  How  many  locks  of 
hair  perfumed  with  musk  has  He  hidden  in  the  bosom  of 
the  dust! 


108. 

O  careless  men!  be  not  duped  by  this  world,  since 
you  know  its  pursuits.  Throw  not  to  the  wind  your 
precious  lives;  hasten  to  seek  a  friend  [God],  and  quickly 
drink  of  wine. 


3o6       QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 


O  my  companions!  pour  me  some  wine  and  thus 
change  my  face,  from  yellow  as  amber,  to  the  color  of 
the  ruby.  When  I  am  dead,  lave  me  in  wine,  and  of 
the  wood  of  the  vine  make  my  coffin   and  bier. 


no. 

The  day  when  the  celestial  war-horse  of  the  golden 
stars  was  saddled,  when  the  planet  Jupiter  and  the 
Pleiades  were  created,  from  that  day  the  Divan  [Chief 
Justice]  of  destiny  fixed  our  lot.  In  what  respect,  then, 
are  we  guilty,  since  such  is  the  part  that  was  made 
for  us? 


Oh !  what  damage  may  the  vessels  filled  to  flowing  do, 
and  how  incomplete  are  they  who  possess  riches!  The 
eyes  of  beautiful  Turkish  women  are  a  feast  to  the  heart, 
yet  they  are  simple  learners  from  the  slaves  who  own 
them. 


It  is  necessary  that  our  existence  be  effaced  from  the 
book  of  life,  that  we  expire  in  the  arms  of  death.  O 
charming  cupbearer,  go,  gaily  bring  me  wine  since  my 
poor  earth  to  earth  must  come. 


TRANSLATION    OF   THE   NICOLAS   TEXT  307 


113- 

At  this  moment,  when  my  heart  is  not  yet  deprived  of 
life,  it  seems  to  me  that  there  are  few  problems  that  I 
have  not  solved.  However,  when  I  call  intelligence  to 
my  aid,  when  I  examine  myself  with  care,  I  perceive 
that  my  existence  has  slipped  away  and  that  I  have  still 
defined  nothing. 


114. 

Those  who  adore  the  seddjadeh  [prayer-rug]  are  asses, 
since  they  throw  themselves,  with  full  consent,  into  the 
charge  of  devotees  and  hypocrites.  What  is  most  sin- 
gular about  them  is  that  they,  under  a  mantle  of  piety, 
preach  Islamism  and  are,  in  reality,  worse  than  idolaters. 


When  the  tree  of  my  existence  shall  be  cut  down,  when 
my  members  shall  be  dispersed,  let  them  make  pitchers 
of  my  dust  and  fill  these  pitchers  with  wine;  then  shall 
my  dust  be  revived  [through  the  wine  contained  in 
them]. 


116. 

O  Thou,  God,  before  whom  sin  is  without  consequence, 
tell  him  who  possesses  intelligence  to  proclaim  this  im- 
portant point :  that  in  the  eyes  of  a  philosopher  it  is  an 
absolute  absurdity  to  make  divine  fore -knowledge  in  league 
with  sin. 


3o8  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


117. 

In  the  first  place,  my  being  was  given  me  without  my 
consent,  which  makes  my  own  existence  a  lasting  problem 
to  me.  Then,  we  leave  this  world  with  regret,  and  with- 
out having  accomplished  the  aim  of  our  coming,  of  our 
stay,  or  our  departure. 


118. 


When  my  sins  come  back  to  mind,  the  fire  which  then 
burned  in  my  heart  makes  my  boldness  stream  forth; 
for  everywhere  is  it  established  that  when  a  slave  re- 
pents,  a  generous  master  pardons  him. 


119. 

These  potters  who  constantly  plunge  their  fingers  into 
the  clay,  who  employ  all  their  mind,  all  their  intelligence, 
all  their  faculties  to  mould  it,  even  to  the  crushing  of 
it  with  their  feet  and  striking  with  their  hands,  of  what 
think  they  ?  It  is  the  same  clay  as  the  human  body  that 
they  are  treating  thus. 


Those  who,  through  knowledge,  are  the  cream  of  the 
world;  who,  with  intelligence  scan  the  heights  of  the 
heavens,  they  also,  like  the  firmament,  have  their  heads 
turned  in  their  search  for  divine  knowledge,  and  are 
taken  with  vertigo  and  dimness  of  sight. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS   TEXT  309 


121. 

God  has  promised  us  wine  in  Paradise.  In  that  case 
why  should  He  prohibit  it  in  this  world  ?  One  day  an 
Arab  in  a  state  of  drunkenness  cut  the  hams  of  Hamzah's 
camel  with  his  sword.  It  is  only  for  him  that  our 
Prophet  makes  wine  illicit. 


Since  at  this  moment  there  only  remains  to  you  the 
memory  of  pleasure  passed  away ;  since  for  a  perfect  friend 
you  have  only  a  cup  of  wine ;  finally,  since  that  is  all  you 
own,  rejoice  at  least  in  this  possession  and  let  the  cup 
not  slip  from  your  hands. 


123. 

Oh!  for  the  time  when  we  shall  be  no  more  and  the 
world  shall  still  be  here!  There  will  remain  no  fame  or 
trace  of  us.  The  world  was  not  unfinished  when  we 
came;  naught  will  be  changed  when  we  have  gone 
from  it. 


124. 

Those  whose  feet  have  trodden  the  world,  who  have 
run  over  it  for  the  sake  of  appropriating  the  riches  of 
the  two  hemispheres  to  themselves,  they  are  not  the 
ones,  I  believe,  who  have  ever  been  able  to  explain  the 
true  state,  the  real  situation  of  things  here  below. 


3IO  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


125. 

O  regret!  The  capital  [of  life]  has  slipped  from  our 
hands.  Alas!  many  hearts  have  been  through  death 
drowned  in  blood,  and  no  one  returns  from  the  other 
world  that  I  may  ask  him  news  of  the  travelers  who 
have  gone. 


126. 

These  numerous  great  lords,  so  proud  of  their  titles, 
are  so  gnawed  by  cares  and  sorrows  that  existence  to 
them  is  a  burden.  And  most  ridiculous  it  is  that  they 
deign  not  to  call  by  the  name  of  men  those  who,  unlike  to 
them,  are  not  slaves  to  their  passions. 


This  lofty  Wheel,  whose  trade  it  is  to  tyrannize,  has 
never  loosed  for  man  the  knot  of  any  difficulty.  Wherever 
it  has  seen  an  ulcerated  heart,  there  has  it  come  to  add 
wound  unto  wound. 


T28. 

Alas!  the  period  of  adolescence  reaches  home.  The 
springtime  of  our  pleasures  slips  away!  That  bird  of 
gaiety  which  is  called  youth,  alas!  I  know  not  when  it 
came  nor  when  it  flew  away! 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS   TEXT  311 


129. 

In  the  midst  of  this  whirlpool  of  the  world,  hasten  to 
gather  some  fruit.  Seat  thyself  upon  the  throne  of  gaiety 
and  bring  the  cup  to  thy  lips.  God  is  indifferent  both 
to  creed  and  sin;  enjoy  then  here  below,  what  pleases 
thee. 


Do  you  see  those  two  or  three  imbeciles  who  hold  the 
world  in  their  hands,  and  who,  in  their  candid  ignorance, 
believe  themselves  the  wisest  in  the  universe  ?  Do  not 
disturb  yourself  for,  in  their  high  content,  they  deem 
all  heretics  who  are  not  asses  [like  themselves]. 


131- 

Would  that  the  tavern  could  always  be  animated  by 
the  presence  of  drinkers,  that  fire  would  reach  the  hem 
of  the  holy  robe  of  devotees,  that  their  monk's  frock  might 
be  torn  to  tatters  and  their  bkie  woolen  garment  be  tram- 
pled under  the   feet  of  the  drinkers. 


132. 

How  long  wilt  thou  be  a  dupe  to  colors  and  perfumes  ? 
When  wilt  thou  cease  to  seek  out  good  and  bad  ? 
Thou  mightest  be  the  source  of  Zemizem,  thou  mightest 
even  be  the  water  of  life  since  thou  wouldst  not  know  how 
to  escape  entering  the  bosom  of  the  earth. 


312       QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 


133- 

Renounce  not  the  drinking  of  wine  if  you  have  any, 
for  a  hundred  repentances  follow  one  such  resolution. 
The  roses  scatter  their  blossoms,  the  nightingales  fill  the 
air  with  their  song,  and  would  it  be  reasonable  to  renounce 
drinking  in  a  moment  like  this  ? 


134. 

As  long  as  the  friend  [God]  will  pour  for  me  the  wine 
which  rejoices  my  soul,  as  long  as  the  heavens  have 
not  deposited  a  hundred  kisses  upon  my  head  and  feet, 
whatever  they  may  do,  when  the  moment  comes,  to  in- 
duce me  to  renounce  drinking,  how  can  I  renounce  it, 
God  not  having  ordered  me  to  ? 


135- 

Whoever  has  constancy  will  not  renounce  drinking  wine, 
for  wine  has  within  itself  the  virtue  of  the  water  of  life. 
If  any  one  renounce  it  during  the  month  of  Ramazan,  let 
him  at  least  abstain  from  engagement  in  prayer. 


136. 

When  I  am  dead,  smooth  to  the  level  of  the  soil  the 
dust  of  my  tomb,  that  I  may  thus  be  an  example  to  other 
men.  Then,  mix  with  wine  the  earth  of  my  body  and 
make  of  it  —  a  cover  for  a  wine- jar. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS   TEXT  313 


137- 

O  Khayyam!  although  the  Wheel  of  the  Heavens  has, 
in  setting  up  his  tent,  closed  the  door  to  discussions,  [it 
is  evident,  nevertheless,]  that  the  cupbearer  of  eternity 
[God]  has  produced,  in  the  form  of  globules  of  wine  in 
the  cup  of  creation,  a  thousand  other  Khayyams  like 
thee. 


138. 

Give  thyself  to  gaiety,  for  sorrow  will  be  infinite.  The 
stars  will  continue  movement  in  the  firmament,  and  the 
bricks  which  will  be  made  of  thy  body  will  serve  to  con- 
struct palaces  for  others. 


139- 

Pass  joyously  thy  life,  for  many  other  travelers  will  file 
through  this  world ;  the  soul  will  cry  after  the  body  from 
which  it  will  be  separated,  and  the  head,  the  seat  of 
the  passions,  will  be  trampled  under  the  potter's  feet. 


140. 

Happy  the  heart  of  him  who  has  passed  unknown, 
who  has  not  been  clothed  in  a  robe  of  ceremony,  nor  in 
luxurious  garments,  nor  in  stuffs  of  great  price,  who, 
like  the  simourg,  is  lifted  into  the  skies  to  the  place  of 
his  delight  as  the  owl  sits  among  the  ruins  of  this  world. 


314  QUATRAINS    OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


141. 

Drinkers  alone  know  how  to  appreciate  the  language 
of  the  roses  and  of  wine,  and  not  the  feeble  in  heart  or 
the  poor  in  spirit.  Those  who  have  no  idea  of  what  is 
occult,  to  them  ignorance  is  pardonable,  for  drunkards 
alone  can  understand  what  belongs  to  such  an  order  of 
of  things. 


142. 

Once  in  the  tavern,  one  can  make  his  ablutions  only 
with  wine.  There,  when  a  name  is  soiled,  it  cannot  be 
restored.  Bring,  then,  some  wine,  since  the  veil  of  our 
shame  is  torn  in  such  a  manner  that  it  cannot  be  re- 
paired. 


143- 

Pierced  with  a  vain  hope,  I  have  thrown  to  the  wind 
a  part  of  my  existence,  and  that  without  having  known 
here  below  a  day  of  happiness.  That  which  I  fear  now 
is  that  time  will  prevent  me  from  seizing  the  opportu- 
nity to  make  amends  for  the  past. 


144. 

Alas!  my  heart  has  not  been  able  to  find  any  rem- 
edy [for  its  grief] ;  my  soul  has  arrived  at  the  edge  of  my 
lips  [death],  without  having  attained  the  object  of  its  love. 
Alas!  my  life  has  passed  in  ignorance,  and  the  enigma 
of  this  love  has  not  been    explained. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE    NICOLAS   TEXT  315 


145. 

In  the  regions  of  the  soul,  it  is  necessary  to  walk  with 
discernment;  upon  the  things  of  this  world,  it  is  well  to 
be  silent.  While  we  have  our  eyes,  our  tongues,  and  our 
ears,  we  should  be  without  eyes,  without  tongues,  and 
without  ears. 


146. 

In  this  world,  he  who  commands  a  loaf  of  bread  and 
who  can  cover  his  body  with  any  garment  whatsoever, 
he  who  is  neither  master  nor  servant,  tell  him  to  live 
content,  for  he  has  a  sweet  existence. 


147. 

One  should  not  plant  in  his  heart  the  tree  of  sadness. 
On  the  contrary,  he  should  ever  peruse  the  book  of  joy. 
One  should  drink  wine,  and  follow  the  trend  of  his  own 
heart,  for  behold,  the  length  of  time  remaining  to  you  in 
this  world  is  quickly  measured. 


148. 

Has  Thy  empire  gained  in  splendor  by  my  obeisance, 
O  God  ?  Or  have  my  sins  retrenched  in  any  degree  Thy 
immensity  ?  Pardon,  O  God,  and  do  not  punish,  for  I 
know  well   that  Thou  punishest  late  and  pardonest  early. 


3i6  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


149. 

It  would  be  troublesome  if  my  hand,  accustomed  to 
seize  the  cup,  took  the  Koran  and  depended  upon  Mo- 
hammedan diet.  With  you  it  is  different;  you  are  a  dry 
devotee,  while  I  am  a  depraved  one,  moist  [through  drink], 
and  the  only  fire  I  know  is  kindled  by  wine. 


150. 

Upon  earth,  no  one  presses  to  his  heart  a  charmer  with 
cheeks  of  the  tints  of  a  rose  without  the  time  comes 
that  he  feels  the  sting  of  the  thorn.  See  the  comb:  be- 
fore it  could  caress  the  perfumed  hair  of  the  beauty,  it 
had  to  be  cut  into  many  teeth. 


151. 

Would  that  I  had  constantly  in  my  hand  the  juice  of 
the  vine!  Would  that  my  love  for  these  beautiful  idols, 
that  are  like  houris,  might  never  leave  my  heart!  They 
say  to  me :  God  has  ordered  you  to  renounce  these  things. 
Oh!  should  He  give  me  such  a  command,  I  would  not 
obey  it.     Far  be  the   thought! 


152. 

Behold,  I  must  go,  and  life  is  saddened  by  my  going;  for, 
out  of  a  hundred  precious  pearls  but  one  have  I  pierced. 
Alas!  thanks  to  the  ignorance  of  men,  a  hundred  thou- 
sand things  of  deepest  import  yet  remain  unheard. 


TRANSLATION   OP   THE   NICOLAS  TEXT  317 


153. 

To-day  the  season  smiles ;  'tis  neither  hot  nor  cold.  The 
clouds  have  washed  away  the  dust  which  dimmed  the 
roses;  and  nightingales  seem  whispering  to  the  yellow 
flowers  that  wine   is  balm  for  all. 


154. 

The  day  when  I  shall  know  myself  no  more,  and  when 
they  will  speak  of  me  as  of  a  fable,  then  I  desire  [do 
I  dare  say  it  ?]  that  my  clay  be  made  into  a  jar  for  wine 
and  destined  to  service  at  the  tavern. 


155- 

Drink  thou  of  wine  before  thy  name  shall  vanish  from 
this  world,  for,  when  this  nectar  enters  thy  heart,  sorrow 
disappears.  Unbind  strand  by  strand  the  hair  of  thy 
charming  idol,  before  the  jointure  of  thy  frame  itself  is 
loosed. 


156. 

O  idol!  ere  sorrow  comes  to  assail  thee,  order  rose- 
colored  wine.  Thou  art  not  gold,  O  imbecile!  to  believe 
that  after  burial  in  the  earth,  you  can  be  drawn  from  it 
again. 


3i8  QUATRAINS   OF    OMAR   KHAYYAM 


157- 

This  world  has  not  derived  any  advantage  from  my 
coming  here  below.  Its  glory  and  its  dignity  are  equally 
unaffected  by  my  departure.  My  two  ears  have  never 
heard  any  one  say  why  I  have  come,  or  why  I  am  forced 
to  go  again. 


158. 

All  thy  secrets  are  known  to  the  wisdom  of  Heaven 
[God] ;  He  knows  them  hair  by  hair  and  vein  by  vein. 
I  admit  that  by  power  of  hypocrisy  you  may  be  able 
to  deceive  men,  but  what  will  you  do  before  Him  who 
knows  your  misdeeds  one  by  one  in  every  detail  ? 


159- 

Wine  gives  wings  to  those  attacked  by  melancholy; 
wine  is  a  mole  of  beauty  upon  the  cheek  of  intelligence; 
we  have  not  drunk  of  it  during  the  Ramazan  which 
has  passed,  but  now  the  eve  of  [the  month  of]  Burak 
hath  arrived  and  we  shall  make  amends. 


160. 

Live  in  joy,  for  the  time  is  coming  when  all  the  crea- 
tures that  you  see  will  disappear  under  the  earth;  drink, 
drink  of  wine,  and  never  abandon  yourself  to  the  sorrow 
of  this  world.  Those  who  come  after  you  only  too  soon 
become  a  prey  to  it. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS   TEXT  319 


i6i. 

There  is  not  a  night  when  my  mind  is  not  in  a  state  of 
stupefaction.  There  is  not  one  when  my  breast  is  not 
inundated  with  pearls  that  flow  from  my  eyes.  The  dis- 
quiet which  possesses  me  keeps  the  bowl  of  my  head  from 
filling  itself  with  wine;  can  a  bowl  overturned  ever  be 
filled  ? 


162. 

When  my  nature  has  seemed  disposed  to  fasting  and 
prayer,  I  have  a  moment's  hope  that  I  am  going  to  attain 
the  aim  of  my  desires;  but  alas!  a  breath  of  wind  has 
sufficed  to  destroy  the  efficacy  of  my  ablutions,  and  a 
mouthful  of  wine  has  annihilated  my  fast. 


163. 

All  my  being  is  attracted  by  the  sight  of  beautiful, 
rose-colored  faces;  my  hand  is  aye  ready  to  seize  a  cup 
of  wine.  Oh,  I  wish  to  enjoy  for  its  part  what  belongs 
to  each  of  my  members,  ere  these  same  members  are 
lost  in  the  Whole, 


164. 

A  worldly  love  knows  not  how  to  produce  reflection. 
It  is  like  a  fire  half  extinguished  which  no  longer  gives 
heat.  A  true  love  should  know  neither  tranquillity,  nor 
repose,  nor  nourishment,  nor  sleep  for  months  and  years, 
day  nor  night. 


320  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


165. 

How  long  wilt  thou  pass  thy  life  in  adoring  thyself,  and 
seeking  the  cause  of  annihilation  of  thy  being  ?  Drink 
wine,  for  a  life  that  is  followed  by  death  is  better  spent 
in  sleep  or  drunkenness. 


166. 

To-morrow  I  shall  have  surmounted  the  mountain 
which  separates  us,  and  with  indescribable  happiness 
take  the  cup  in  my  hand.  My  mistress  longs  for  me, 
the  day  is  bright;  if  I  do  not  hasten  to  enjoy  myself 
in  such  a  moment,  when  shall  I  find  enjoyment? 


167. 

There  are  people  who  through  outrageous  presumption 
are  sunk  in  pride;  and  others  who  abandon  themselves 
to  the  houris  of  celestial  palaces.  When  the  curtain  is 
raised,  we  shall  see  that  they  have  fallen  far,  far,  far, 
from  Thee  [O  God]! 


168. 

We  are  assured  that  there  is  a  Paradise  for  us  peopled 
with  houris,  and  that  we  shall  find  there  limpid  wine  and 
honey.  It  must  then  be  permitted  us  to  love  women  and 
wine  here  below,  for  is  not  this   our  end  and   aim  ? 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE  NICOLAS   TEXT  321 


169. 

They  pretend  that  there  exists  a  Paradise  where  there 
are  houris,  where  the  Koocer  flows,  where  there  is  hmpid 
wine,  honey  and  sugar.  Oh!  fill  quickly  a  cup  of  wine 
and  put  it  in  my  hand,  for  one  present  joy  is  worth  more 
than  a  thousand  promised  for  the  future. 


170. 

Even  a  mountain  would  dance  for  joy  if  you  soaked  it 
in  wine.  Poor  is  the  fool  who  scorns  the  cup.  You  dare 
order  me  to  renounce  the  juice  of  the  vine !  Know  then 
that  wine  is  a  soul  which  helps  to  bring  man  to  perfection. 


171. 

From  time  to  time  my  heart  finds  itself  much  strait- 
ened in  its  cage.  Shameful  is  it  to  be  mixed  with  water 
and  clay.  I  have  often  thought  of  destroying  this  prison, 
but  my  foot  would  come  in  contact  with  a  stone  and  slip 
on  the  stirrup  of  the  Koran's  law. 


172. 

They  say  that  the  moon  of  Ramazan  [month  of  fast- 
ing] is  about  to  appear  and  that  wine  must  no  longer  be 
thought  of.  It  is  well;  but  let  me  during  the  re- 
mainder of  Cheeban  [the  month  preceding]  drink  such 
a  quantity  of  it  that  I  may  remain  drunk  up  to  the  day 
of  the  fast. 


322  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR  KHAYYAM 


173- 

Cease,  if  ye  are  my  friends,  all  vain  discourse,  and, 
to  relieve  my  mental  pains  pour  out  the  wine.  And 
when  to  dust  my  frame  returns,  the  self-same  dust 
collect  and  make  it  brick  to  stop  some  crevice  in  the 
tavern  wall. 


174. 


The  beverage  of  our  existence  is  sometimes  limpid, 
sometimes  muddy.  Our  garments  are  at  one  time  of 
coarse  wool,  at  another  of  finest  fabric.  All  this  is  in- 
significant to  a  clear  mind ;  but  is  it  insignificant  to  die  ? 


175- 

No  one  has  penetrated  the  secrets  of  the  Principle 
[First  Cause].  No  one  has  taken  a  step  outside  himself. 
I  look  about  and  see  only  insufficiency  from  pupil  to 
master,  insufficiency  in  all  that  the   mother  brings   forth. 


176. 

Restrain  thy  envy  of  the  things  of  this  world  if  thou 
wishest  to  be  happy;  break  the  bonds  which  enchain 
thee  to  the  good  and  the  bad  here  below;  live  contented, 
for  the  periodic  movement  of  the  heavens  takes  its  course, 
and  this  life  will  not  be  of  long  duration. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS  TEXT          323 


177. 

No  one  has  had  access  behind  the  curtain  of  destiny; 
no  one  has  knowledge  of  the  secrets  of  Providence.  For 
seventy-two  years  I  have  reflected  day  and  night,  I  have 
learned  nothing  anywhere,  and  the  enigma  remains  un- 
explained. 


178. 

They  say  that  at  the  last  day  there  will  be  judgments, 
and  that  our  dear  Friend  [God]  will  be  in  anger.  But 
from  pure  goodness  only  goodness  emanates.  Be  then 
without  fear,  for  finally  you  will  see  that  He  is  full  of 
gentleness. 


179. 

Drink  wine,  since  it  is  that  which  will  put  an  end  to 
the  disquiet  of  thy  heart;  it  will  deliver  thee  from  thy 
meditations  upon  the  seventy-two  sects  of  the  globe.  Do 
not  abstain  from  this  alchemy  for,  if  thou  drinkest  but  a 
men  [a  measure]  of  it,  it  will  destroy  for  thee  a  thousand 
infirmities. 


180. 

Wine  has  been  prohibited,  perhaps,  but  it  is  only  pro- 
hibited according  to  the  person  who  drinks  it,  according 
to  the  quantity  drunk,  and  according  to  the  individual 
with  whom  we  drink  it.  These  points  once  observed, 
who  would  drink  it  if  not  the  wise  ? 


324  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


For  myself,  I  should  pour  some  wine  into  a  cup  that 
would  contain  a  pint.  I  should  be  content  with  two 
cups;  but  first  I  should  divorce  myself  thrice  from  reli- 
gion and  reason,  and  then  espouse  the  daughter  of  the 
vine. 


Yes,  I  drink  wine,  and  whoever  like  me  is  far-seeing 
will  find  that  this  act  is  insignificant  in  the  eyes  of  the 
Divinity.  From  all  eternity  God  has  known  that  I  would 
drink  wine.  If  I  did  not  drink  it,  His  prescience  would 
be  pure  ignorance. 


183. 

The  drinker,  if  he  is  rich,  ruins  himself.  The  disordet 
of  his  drunkenness  provokes  scandal  in  the  world.  For 
this  I  should  put  an  emerald  in  the  bowl  of  my  ruby  pipe, 
effectually  to  blind  the  serpent  of  my  grief. 


184. 

There  are  some  ignorant  beings  who  have  never  passed 
a  night  in  quest  of  truth,  who  have  never  taken  a  step 
outside  themselves,  who  show  themselves  clothed  in  the 
garments  of  great  lords  and  who  are  pleased  to  slander 
those  whose  conduct  is  irreproachable. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS   TEXT  325 


185. 

When  the  azure  of  dawn  shows  itself,  have  the  sparkling 
cup  in  thine  hand.  They  say  that  truth  is  bitter  in  the 
mouth  of  mortals.  That  is  a  plausible  reason  for  wine 
being  truth  itself. 


1S6. 

This  is  the  moment  when  the  verdure  begins  to  ornament 
the  world,  when,  like  the  hand  of  Moses,  the  buds  begin 
to  show  themselves  upon  the  branches;  when,  revivified, 
as  if  by  the  breath  of  Jesus,  the  plants  spring  forth  from 
the  earth;  when  finally  the  clouds  begin  to  ope  their 
eyes  and  weep. 


187. 

Keep  from  the  trouble  and  vexation  of  aiming  to  ac- 
quire white  silver  or  yellow  gold.  Eat  with  thy  friend, 
ere  thy  warm  breath  be  cooled,  for  after  thee  come  ene- 
mies who  will   eat  thee.  ■. 


188. 

Each  mouthful  of  wine  which  the  cupbearer  pours  into 
the  cup  helps  to  extinguish  the  fire  of  anger  in  thy  burn- 
ing eyes.  Has  it  not  been  said,  O  great  God,  that  wine 
is  an  elixir  which  drives  from  the  heart  a  hundred  sorrows 
that  oppress  it  ? 


326  QUATRAINS   OF    OMAR   KHAYYAM 


189. 

When  the  violet  has  tinted  her  cheeks,  when  the 
zephyr  has  made  the  roses  bloom,  then  he  who  is  wise  in 
company  with  the  fact  will  drink  wine  until  he  can  dash 
the   cup  against   a  stone  [showing  emptiness]. 


190. 

The  devotee  knows  not  how  to  appreciate  as  well  as 
we  Thy  divine  pity.  A  stranger  can  never  know  Thee 
as  perfectly  as  a  friend.  [They  pretend]  that  Thou  hast 
said:  If  you  commit  sin,  I  will  send  you  into  Hell.  Go 
now  —  tell  that  to  one  who  knows  Thee  not. 


191. 

A  cup  of  wine  is  worth  the  empire  of  the  universe; 
the  brick  which  covers  the  jar  is  worth  a  thousand  lives. 
The  napkin  with  which  one  wipes  lips  moistened  with 
wine   is  indeed  worth  a  thousand  turbans. 


192. 

O  Friends!  meet  together  [after  my  death].  Once  re- 
united, rejoice  in  being  together  and,  when  the  cupbearer 
takes  in  his  hand  a  cup  of  old  wine,  remember  poor 
Khayyam   and   drink   to   his  memory. 


TRANSLATION    OF   THE   NICOLAS   TEXT  327 


193- 

Not  a  single  time  has  the  Wheel  of  Heaven  been  pro- 
pitious to  me,  never  for  one  instant  has  it  allowed  me 
to  hear  a  sweet  voice,  not  a  day  has  it  given  me  a 
second  of  happiness  but  that  very  day  it  has  plunged 
me  into  an  abyss  of  grief. 


194. 

A  cup  of  wine  is  worth  a  hundred  hearts,  a  hundred 
creeds;  a  mouthful  of  this  juice  divine  is  worth  the  Em- 
pire of  China.  What  is  there,  truly,  on  the  earth  pref- 
erable to  wine  ?  It  is  a  bitter  that  is  a  hundred  times 
sweeter  than  life. 


195- 

The  Wheel  of  Heaven  only  multiplies  our  griefs!  It 
places  nothing  here  below  that  it  does  not  soon  bear 
away.  Oh!  if  those  who  have  not  yet  come  knew 
the  suffering  this  world  inflicts,  they  would  guard  them- 
selves well  from  coming  here. 


196. 

Drink,  drink  this  wine  which  gives  eternal  life;  drink, 
for  it  is  the  source  of  youthful  joy:  it  burns  like  fire, 
but,  like  life's  essence,  drives  away  your  care.  Then 
drink ! 


328  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR  KHAYYAM 


197. 

O  Friend,  to  what  good  art  thou  preoccupied  with 
being?  Why  trouble  thus  thy  heart,  thy  soul  with  idle 
thoughts  ?  Live  happily,  pass  thy  time  joyously,  for  you 
were  not  asked  your  opinion  about  the  making  of  things 
as  they  are. 


198. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  tomb  are  returned  to  earth  in 
dust;  the  atoms  [of  which  they  are  composed]  are  scat- 
tered here  and  there,  separated  one  from  the  other. 
Alas!  what  is  this  drink  in  which  the  human  race  is 
soaked  and  which  holds  it  thus  in  dizzy  ignorance  of  all 
things,  even  to  the  day  of  doom  ? 


199. 

O  heart!  act  as  if  all  the  good  things  of  this  world 
belonged  to  you;  imagine  that  this  house  is  provided 
with  everything,  that  it  is  richly  furnished,  and  live  joy- 
ously in  this  domain  of  disorder.  Realize  that  thou  restest 
here  for  two  or  three  days,  and  that  thereafter  thou 
shalt  rise  and  go  away. 


The  dogmas  of  religion  admit  only  that  which  places 
you  under  obligation  to  the  Divinity.  That  morsel  of 
bread  that  you  have,  refuse  not  to  others;  keep  from 
speaking  evil;  render  evil  to  no  one,  and  it  is  I  who 
promise  you  a  future  life:  bring  wine. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS   TEXT  329 


201. 


Dragged  through  the  rapid  course  of  time,  which  ac- 
cords its  favors  only  to  the  least  worthy,  my  life  is  passed 
in  a  gulf  of  grief  and  sorrow.  In  this  garden  of  being, 
my  heart  is  hard  as  is  the  green  bud  of  a  rose;  and  like 
a  tulip,  it  is  dipped  in  blood.  *    , 


202. 


What  belongs  to  youth  is  wine,  the  limpid  juice  of  the 
vine  and  the  society  of  beauty;  and  since  water  once 
brought  ruin  to  this  world  by  annihilating  it,  it  is  our 
part  to  drown  ourselves  in  wine,  to  pass  our  life  in 
drunkenness  complete. 


203. 

Bring  wine  from  this  ruby  vessel  and  pour  it  into  a 
simple  crystal  cup;  bring  that  thing  habitual  and  dear 
to  every  noble  man.  Since  you  know  that  all  beings  are 
but  dust,  and  that  a  two-day  tempest  makes  them  dis- 
appear, bring  wine. 


204. 

O  Thou,  the  quest  of  whom  holds  all  in  dizziness  and 
distress,  the  dervish  and  the  rich  are  equally  void  of 
means  of  reaching  Thee.  Thy  name  is  in  the  speech 
of  all,  but  all  are  deaf;  Thou  art  present  to  the  eyes  of 
all,  but  all  are  blind. 


330  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


205. 

In  company  with  one  dear  friend,  how  pleasing  to  me 
is  a  cup  of  wine.  When  I  become  the  prey  of  care,  it 
is  fitting  that  my  eyes  should  be  filled  with  tears.  Oh! 
this  abject  world  has  nothing  lasting  for  us,  and  best  it 
is  to  dwell  inebriate. 


206. 

Keep  thyself  from  drinking  wine  in  the  company  of  a 
boorish,  violent  character,  having  no  mind  or  self-control, 
for  such  a  man  knows  only  how  to  cause  unpleasantness. 
For  the  time,  thou  wouldst  have  to  undergo  the  disorder 
of  his  drunkenness,  his  vociferations,  his  folly.  And  the 
next  day,  his  prayers  for  excuse  and  pardon  would  come 
to  weary  thy  head. 


207. 

Since  you  only  possess  what  God  has  given  you,  tor- 
ment not  ^yourself  to  obtain  the  object  of  your  covetous- 
ness.  Keep  from  burdening  the  heart  too  much,  for  the 
final  drama  consists  in  leaving  all  and  passing  beyond. 


208. 

O  my  soul!  drink  this  limpid  nectar  which  has  not 
been  stirred;  drink  it  in  memory  of  the  charming  idols 
which  ravish  the  heart.  Wine  is  the  blood  of  the  vine, 
my  friend,  and  the  vine  says  to  thee:  Drink  of  me, 
since   I   render  it  lawful  to  you. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS   TEXT  331 


209. 

In  the  season  of  flowers,  drink  rose-colored  wine ;  drink 
to  the  plaintive  sounds  of  the  lute,  to  the  melodious  noise 
of  the  harp.  As  for  me,  I  drink  and  rejoice  in  it;  may- 
it  be  salutary  to  me!  If  you  do  not  drink,  why  not  be 
willing  that  I  should  ?     Go,  then,  and  eat  pebbles ! 


210. 


Art  thou  sad  ?  Take  a  piece  of  hasheesh  as  large  as  a 
grain  of  barley,  or  drink  a  small  measure  of  rose-colored 
wine.  Then  you  will  become  a  Sufi.  But,  if  you  will 
not  drink  of  this  or  partake  of  that,  nothing  remains  for 
you  but  to  eat  pebbles;  go,  eat  some  pebbles! 


211. 


But  yesterday,  I  saw  a  potter  in  a  bazaar  treading 
most  vigorously  the  clay  he  was  molding.  The  clay 
seemed  to  say  to  him:  I  also  have  been  like  thee;  treat 
me,  then,  with  less  harshness. 


If  thou  drinkest  wine,  drink  it  with  intelligent  people, 
drink  it  in  company  with  thy  ravishing  idols,  with  smiles 
upon  their  lips  and  their  cheeks  tinted  with  the  colors  of 
the  tulip.  Drink  not  too  much  or  speak  boastingly  of 
it;  make  it  not  a  refrain,  but  drink  a  little  from  time 
to  time  in  quietude. 


332  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


213. 

Wine  should  be  drunk  in  the  company  of  slender  crea- 
tures who  ravish  the  heart  with  the  color  of  their  cheeks. 
Art  thou  bitten  by  the  serpent  of  grief,  friend  —  drink,  then, 
of  this  antidote.  I  myself  drink  of  it  and  plume  myself 
on  the  strength  of  it;  would  that  it  might  be  propitious! 
If  you  drink  it  not,  why  not  be  willing  that  I  should  ? 
Go,  eat  some  earth. 


214. 

Here  is  the  Dawn ;  arise,  O  beardless  youth,  and  quickly 
fill  this  crystal  cup  with  ruby  wine,  for  [later],  you  could 
seek  long  time  ere  finding  such  a  moment  of  existence  as 
is  lent  us  in  this  world   of  nothingness. 


215- 

'Twixt  wine  and  Jemshid's  throne,  give  me  the  wine; 
the  bouquet  of  the  cup  is  sweeter  than  the  Virgin's 
heaven-sent  fruits.  The  morning  sigh  of  one  inebriate 
the  bygone  night  is  more  melodious  than  the  longdrawn 
lamentations  of  Adhem  or  Bou-Sai'd. 


216. 

O  my  heart!  since  the  foundation,  even,  of  the  things 
of  this  world  is  only  a  fiction,  why  do  you  venture  thus 
in  an  infinite  gulf  of  sorrow?  Trust  yourself  to  destiny, 
endure  the  evil,  for  the  lot  which  the  heavenly  brush 
has   traced  for  you  will  not  be  efEaced. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS   TEXT  333 


217. 

Of  all  those  who  have  taken  the  long  road,  who  is  there 
now  returned  of  whom  I  may  ask  news  ?  O  friend !  be- 
ware of  putting  any  hope  whatever  in  this  sordid  world, 
for,  know  well  that  thou  here  shalt  ne'er  return. 


218. 

Since  each  of  these  nights  and  each  of  these  days  cuts 
off  a  part  of  thy  existence,  allow  not  the  nights  or  the 
days  to  cover  thee  with  dust.  Pass  them  gaily,  for  how 
long,  alas!  shalt  thou  be  absent,  while  the  nights  and 
days  will  still  be  here! 


219. 

This  wheel  of  heaven  which  tells  its  secrets  to  no  man, 
has  killed  a  thousand  Mahmouds  [Sultans]  and  a  thou- 
sand Ayaz  [favorites] ;  drink  wine,  for  the  life  of  none 
shall  ever  be  restored.  Alas!  not  one  of  all  those  who 
left  the  world  can  again  return! 


220. 


O  Thou  who  rulest  the  whole  universe!  knowest  Thou 
what  are  the  days  when  wine  rejoices  the  soul  ?  They 
are:  Sunday,  Monday,  Tuesday,  Wednesday,  Thursday, 
Friday  and  Saturday,  all  day  long. 


334  QUATRAINS   OF    OMAR   KHAYYAM 


221. 


O  Being,  exquisite  in  thy  enticing  and  coquettish  charm ! 
be  seated:  rise  no  more  and  thus  appease  the  fire  of  a 
thousand  torments.  Thou  enjoinest  me  not  to  look  upon 
Thee ;  but  it  is  as  if  Thou  shouldst  order  me  to  incline 
the  cup  and  forbid  me  spilling  its  contents. 


Better  to  be  with  Thee  in  the  tavern,  and  there  tell 
Thee  my  secret  thoughts,  than  to  go  without  Thee  and 
make  a  prayer  in  the  mosque.  Yea,  O  Creator  of  all 
that  was  and  all  that  is!  such  is  my  faith,  whether  Thou 
burnest   me,  or  accordest   me  Thy  favor. 


223. 

Consort  with  honest  and  intelligent  men.  Flee  a  thou- 
sand miles  away  from  the  ignorant.  If  a  man  of  mind 
give  thee  poison,  drink  it;  if  an  ignorant  one  present 
thee  an   antidote,  pour  it  upon  the  ground. 


224. 

The  clouds  are  still  spread  out  above  the  roses  and 
seem  to  cover  them  as  with  a  veil.  The  desire  for  wine 
is  not  yet  satiated  in  my  heart.  Then  go  not  to  rest,  it  is 
not  yet  the  hour.  O  my  soul,  drink  of  the  wine ;  drink, 
for  the  sun  is  still  upon  the  horizon. 


TRANSLATION   OF    THE   NICOLAS   TEXT  335 


225. 

Like  unto  a  sparrow-hawk,  I  am  flying  away  from  this 
world  of  mysteries,  hoping  to  lift  myself  to  a  higher 
world;  but,  fallen,  here  below,  and  finding  no  one  worthy 
to  share  my  secret  thoughts,  I  go  out  through  the  door 
by  which  I  entered. 


226. 

Thou  hast  put  in  us  an  irresistible  passion  [which  is 
equivalent  to  an  order  from  Thee],  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  forbiddest  us  to  give  way  to  it.  Poor  human 
beings  are  in  extreme  embarrassment  between  this  order 
and  this  prohibition,  for  it  is  as  if  Thou  commandest  me 
to  upset  the  cup  but  refrain  from  spilling  the  contents. 


227. 

They  are  gone,  these  transients,  and  no  one  of  them 
has  returned  to  tell  the  secrets  concealed  behind  the  cur- 
tain. O  devotee!  it  is  by  humihty  that  spiritual  affairs 
take  favorable  turn  and  not  by  prayer,  for,  what  is 
prayer  without  sincerity  and  humility  ? 


228. 

Throw  dust  upon  the  vault  of  heaven  and  drink  some 
wine;  seek  out  the  fair,  for  where  see  you  a  subject  for 
pardon,  a  subject  for  prayer,  since,  of  all  those  who 
have  gone  away,   no  one  has  returned  ? 


336       QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 


229. 

Although  on  my  necklace  of  duty  I  have  never  strung 
the  pearl  of  submission,  as  is  Thy  due,  although  never 
in  my  heart  have  I  swept  the  dust  from  Thy  steps,  I 
have  never  despaired  reaching  the  sill  of  Thy  throne  of 
pity,  for  never  have  I  importuned  Thee  with  my  troubles. 


230. 

Let  us  recommence  the  course  of  our  pleasures  and 
say  the  tekbir  [farewell]  to  the  five  prayers.  Everywhere, 
where  the  flask  is  present,  you  will  see,  like  the  neck  of 
the  flask  itself,  our  necks  stretching  out  towards  the  cup. 


231- 

Here  below,  we  are  only  the  puppets  with  which  the 
Wheel  of  Heaven  is  amused.  This  is  a  truth  and  not  a 
metaphor.  We  are  in  fact  the  playthings  upon  this  hu- 
man checkerboard,  which  finally  we  leave  to  enter  one 
by  one  the  coffin  of  annihilation. 


232. 

You  ask  me  what  is  this  phantasmagoria  of  things  here 
below.  To  tell  you  the  whole  truth  regarding  it  would 
be  too  long:  it  is  a  fantastic  image  which  comes  out  of 
a  vast  sea,  and  which  re-enters,   later,  the  same  vast  sea. 


TRANSLATION   OF  THE  NICOLAS  TEXT  337 


233- 

To-day  we  are  lost  in  love,  we  are  in  deep  distress, 
and  finally  inebriate,  within  the  temple  of  our  idols 
render  to  the  cult  of  wine  its  due.  To-day,  entirely  sepa- 
rate from  our  being,  we  shall  have  attained  the  step  of 
the  eternal  throne. 


234- 

My  well-beloved  [would  that  her  life  might  last  as  long 
as  my  sorrows!]  has  commenced  to  be  amiable  to  me 
again.  She  cast  in  my  eyes  a  sweet  and  furtive  look 
and  disappeared,  saying  without  doubt  to  herself:  Do 
good  and  cast  it  on  the  waters. 


235. 

Here  is  the  Dawn !  Rise  Thou,  O  Source  of  all  Delight ! 
Drink  sweetly  of  the  wine  and  let  us  listen  to  the  har- 
monies of  the  harp,  for  the  life  of  those  who  sleep  will 
not  be  long,  and  of  those  who  are  no  more,  not  one  will 
e'er  return. 


236. 

O  Thou,  who  knowest  the  secrets  hidden  most  deeply 
at  the  bottom  of  the  heart  of  each.  Thou  who  raisest  with 
Thy  hand  all  those  who  fall  in  distress,  give  me  the  power 
of  renunciation  and  accept  my  excuses,  O  God!  —  Thou 
who  givest  this  power  to  all,  who  acceptest  the  excuses 
of  all! 

32 


338       QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 


237- 

I  saw  on  the  walls  of  the  city  of  Thous  a  bird  hover- 
ing before  the  skull  of  Kai-Kawous.  The  bird  said  to 
the  skull:  Alas!  what  has  become  of  the  noise  of  thy 
glory  and  the  sound  of  the  clarion  ? 


238. 

Raise  no  question  of  the  vicissitudes  of  this  world,  nor 
of  affairs  of  the  future.  Consider  what  a  prize  we  have 
in  the  present  moment,  and  disturb  not  thyself  with  the 
past  or  question  me  about  the  future. 


239- 

Let  not  the  fear  of  future  things  yellow  thy  cheeks ;  let 
not  present  affairs  make  thee  tremble  with  fright;  rejoice, 
in  this  world  of  annihilation,  at  the  portion  of  pleasure 
which  comes  to  you,  and  wait  not  for  that  which  the 
kindness  of  heaven  may  withhold. 


240. 

If  you  will  listen  to  me,  I  will  give  you  some  advice: 
[  Here  it  is  ] :  For  the  love  of  God  put  not  on  the  man- 
tle of  hypocrisy.  Eternity  is  for  all  time,  and  this  world 
is  but  an  instant.  Then  sell  not  for  an  instant  the  empire 
of  eternity. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS  TEXT  339 


241, 

How  long  can  I  hold  you  by  my  ignorance  ?  My  own 
annihilation  oppresses  my  heart.  Straightway  I  gird  my 
loins  with  the  ephod  of  the  priests.  Do  you  know  why  ? 
Because  it  is  the  fashion  of  the  Musulman,  and  I  am  one. 


242. 

O  Khayyam!  when  intoxicate,  be  happy;  when  seated 
near  a  beauty,  joyous  be.  Since  the  end  of  things  in  this 
world  is  annihilation,  pretend  that  you  are  not,  but 
since  you  are,  give  yourself  up  to  pleasure. 


243. 

Yesterday,  I  visited  the  workshop  of  a  potter;  there  I 
saw  two  thousand  pitchers,  some  speaking,  others  silent. 
Each  one  of  these  seemed  to  say  to  me:  Where  is  the 
potter  ?  Where  is  the  buyer  of  pitchers  ?  Where  the 
seller  ? 


244. 

Yesterday,  while  passing  drunk  before  an  inn,  I  met  an 
old  man  overcome  with  wine  and  carrying  a  gourd  of 
wine  upon  his  back.  I  said  to  him:  O  aged  man!  have 
you  no  fear  of  God  ?  He  answered  me :  Pity  comes  from 
Him;  go,  drink  some  wine. 


340  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


245- 

How  long  will  lack  of  success  in  thy  enterprises  grieve 
thee  ?  Torment  is  the  portion  of  those  who  think  of  the 
future.  Live  then,  in  joy,  grieve  not  thy  heart  with  the 
cares  of  this  world,  and  know  that  wine  increases  not  at 
all  the  bitterness  of  pain. 


246. 

Wine,  which  the  wise  man  knows  how  to  appreciate, 
is  for  me  the  water  of  life  and  I  its  prophet  am.  It  is 
balm  for  the  heart,  an  elixir  which  fortifies  the  soul. 
Has  God  Himself  not  said:  The  benefits  of  the  human 
race  are  found   in  wine. 


247. 

Although  wine  be  prohibited,  drink  it  without  ceasing, 
drink  it  in  the  evening  and  in  the  morning,  drink  it  to 
the  noise  of  songs  and  to  the  sound  of  the  harp.  When 
you  can,  procure  that  which  sparkles  like  the  ruby,  throw 
a  drop  on  the  earth  and  drink  all  the  rest. 


248. 

Diversity  of  creed  divides  the  human  race  into  about 
seventy-two  sects.  Amongst  all  these  dogmas,  I  have 
chosen  that  of  Thy  love.  What  signify  these  words: 
Impiety,  Islamism,  creed,  sin  ?  My  true  aim  is  to  seek 
Thee.  Far  be  from  me  all  these  vain,  indifferent  pre- 
J;exts. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE  NICOLAS  TEXT  341 


249. 


Enumerate  my  good  qualities  one  by  one;  my  faults, 
pass  by  in  tens.  Pardon  each  sin  committed  for  the  love 
of  God.  Fan  not  the  fire  of  hatred  by  the  breath  of 
passion;  pardon,  rather,  in  memory  of  the  tomb  of  the 
Prophet  of  God  [Mohammed]. 


250. 

In  truth,  wine  is  a  limpid  spirit  in  the  cup ;  in  the  body 
of  the  flask,  it  is  a  transparent  soul.  No  annoying  per- 
son is  worthy  of  my  society.  It  is  only  the  cup  of  wine 
which  can  figure  there,  for  that  is  at  once  a  solid  and  a 
diaphanous  body. 


251- 

O  Wheel  of  Heaven!  Thou  art  complete  in  Thy  in- 
gratitude. Thou  keepest  me  constantly  bare  [  naked  ] 
like  a  fish.  The  weaver's  loom  weaves  clothes  for  human 
beings;  more  charitable  is  it  than  Thou,  O  Wheel  of 
Heaven ! 


252. 

O  Khayyam!  Time  is  ashamed  of  him  who  allows  his 
heart  to  be  saddened  by  vicissitudes  below;  drink,  then, 
to  the  sound  of  the  harp,  drink  some  wine  from  the 
crystal,  before  the  crystal  broken  be  upon  a  stone. 


342  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


253- 

If  the  rose  is  not  our  portion,  do  not  the  thorns  remain  ? 
If  light  divine  does  not  reach  us,  is  there  not  the  fire  [  of 
hell]?  If  we  have  not  the  clerical  mantle,  or  that  of 
the  temple,  or  the  pontifical,  do  not  the  bells,  the  church, 
and  the  ephod  remain  to  us  ? 


254- 

If  the  Wheel  of  Heaven  refuses  me  peace,  am  I  not 
ready  for  war  ?  If  I  have  not  an  honorable  reputation, 
have  I  not  shame  for  myself  ?  Here  is  the  cup  full  of 
wine  the  color  of  rubies ;  he  who  will  not  drink  of  it,  has 
he  not  his  head  and  a  stone  ? 


255- 

See  Dawn  appears.  Already  has  it  rent  the  veil  of 
night.  Arise,  then,  and  empty  the  morning  cup.  Why 
this  sadness  ?  Drink,  O  my  heart !  drink,  for  these  dawns 
will  succeed  each  other  with  face  turned  towards  us, 
when  we  shall  have  ours  turned  towards  the  earth. 


256. 

All  that  this  world  contains  are  but  images  and  flour- 
ishes of  fiction.  Ill-advised  is  he  who  does  not  compre- 
hend his  place  in  the  number  of  these  images.  Repose, 
thou,  friend,  drink  a  cup  of  wine,  give  thyself  up  to  joy 
and  thus  be  delivered  from  all  these  vain  figures,  from 
these  impossible  reflections  [  which  come  to  assail  thy 
mind  ]. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS   TEXT  343 


257- 

When  you  are  in  the  company  of  a  beauty  with  cypress- 
like  figure  and  a  color  fresher  than  the  newly-culled 
rose,  put  not  far  from  thee  the  flowers  of  the  field,  nor 
let  the  cup  escape  from  thy  hand;  [do  this]  before  the 
north-wind  of  death,  like  a  gale  which  disperses  the 
leaves  of  the  roses,  tears  in  tatters  the  envelope  of  thy 
being. 


258. 

How  long  these  cries,  these  groans  against  the  things 
of  this  world  ?  Rise,  rather,  and  pass  gaily  every  instant. 
When  the  universe  shall  be  re-dressed  m  green  from  end 
to  end,  drink  wine  in  a  ruby  cup,  full  to  the  brim. 


259- 

Give  not  vain  thoughts  free  access  to  thy  mind.  Drink 
wine  throughout  the  year,  and  always  cups  filled  to  the 
brim.  Pursue  the  daughter  of  the  vine  and  aye  rejoice, 
for  it  is  better  to  enjoy  the  daughter  without  leave  of 
law  than  know  the  mother  with  her  full  consent. 


260. 

My  love  is  at  the  apogee  of  its  flame.  The  beauty 
of  the  one  who  captivates  my  soul  [the  Divinity]  is  com- 
plete. My  heart  speaks,  but  my  tongue  remains  mute, 
refusing  to  express  my  sentiments.  Great  God !  Has  one 
ever  seen  aught  more  strange  ?  I  am  devoured  by  thirst, 
and  before  me  flows  a  fresh  and  limpid  draught! 


344       QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 


261. 

Take  a  cup  of  wine  in  thy  hand,  then  mingle  thy  voice 
with  that  of  the  nightingale,  for,  if  it  were  meet  to  drink 
this  juice  t)f  the  vine  without  accompaniment  of  har- 
monious sound,  the  wine  itself  would  make  no  noise  in 
slipping  out  of  the  flask. 


262. 

Guard  thyself  from  ever  despairing  for  a  crime  com- 
mitted, and  be  mindful  of  the  clemency  of  thy  Creator, 
the  pity  of  the  Master;  for,  should'st  thou  die  to-day,  in 
a  state  of  complete  drunkenness,  to-morrow  he  would 
pardon  thy  decaying  dust  for  all. 


263. 

O  Wheel  of  Heaven,  thy  circular  course  does  not  sat- 
isfy me.  Deliver  me  from  it,  for  I  am  unworthy  of  thy 
chain.  If  thy  good  pleasure  consists  in  according  thy 
favors  only  to  the  poor  in  mind,  to  idiots,  I  am  neither 
intelligent  enough  or  wise  enough  [to  be  confounded 
by  it]. 


264. 

O  mufti  [grand  judge]  of  the  city!  I  am  more  a  worker 
than  art  thou.  Drunk  as  I  am,  I  own  more  intelligence 
than  thou;  for  thou,  thou  drinkest  the  blood  of  human 
beings  and  I  that  of  the  vine.  Be  just  and  tell  me 
which  is  the  more  sanguinary  of  the  two  ? 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS   TEXT  345 


265. 

That  which  is  wisest  is  to  seek  joy  in  our  hearts  in 
a  cup  of  wine;  and  not  preoccupy  ourselves  too  much 
with  the  present  or  the  past;  and,  finally,  were  it  only 
for  an  instant,  to  free  from  the  shackles  of  reason  that 
soul  which  has  been  loaned  us  and  which  groans  in  its 
prison. 


266.  • 

The  moment  I  shall  fly  from  death,  when,  like  the 
dry  leaves,  the  particles  of  my  body  shall  detach  them- 
selves from  the  centers  of  life,  oh,  then!  with  what  joy 
shall  I  pass  across  the  universe,  as  through  a  sieve, 
before  the  mason  comes  to  sift  my  own  dust. 


267. 

That  vault  of  heaven,  under  which  we  reel,  we  might, 
in  thought,  liken  to  a  lantern.  The  universe  is  the  lan- 
tern. The  sun  represents  the  light,  and  we,  like  the 
images  with  which  the  lantern  is  ornamented,  dwell  there 
in  stupefaction. 


268. 

Thou  hast  formed  me  of  earth  and  of  water,  what  can 
I  do  ?  Whether  I  be  wool  or  silk,  it  is  Thou  that  hast 
woven,  and  what  can  I  do  ?  The  good  that  I  do,  the 
evil  that  I  am  guilty  of,  were  alike  predestined  by  Thee; 
what  can  I  do  ? 


346  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


269. 

O  friend,  come  to  me,  and  let  us  take  no  thought 
of  to-day  nor  to-morrow,  but  consider  our  short  instant 
of  existence  as  spoils.  To-morrow,  when  we  shall  have 
abandoned  this  old  tent  [the  world],  we  shall  be  the 
companions  of  those  who  left  it  seven  thousand  years 
ago! 


270. 

Never  for  a  moment  be  deprived  of  wine,  for  it  is  wine 
that  gives  reflection  to  intelligence,  to  the  heart  of  man 
and  to  religion.  If  the  devil  had  tasted  it  for  one  in- 
stant, he  would  have  adored  Adam  and  have  made  before 
him  thousands  of  genuflections. 


271. 

Arise,  dance,  and  we  shall  clap  our  hands.  Drink  to 
the  presence  of  beauties  with  the  languorous  eyes  of  the 
narcissus.  Happiness  is  not  very  great  when  one  has 
emptied  but  a  score  of  cups;  it  is  strangely  complete 
when  one  arrives  at  the  sixtieth. 


272. 

I  have  shut  upon  myself  the  door  of  avarice,  and  am 
thus  free  from  obligation  to  those  who  are  men  and  those 
who  do  not  merit  the  name.  Since  there  exists  but  one 
friend  [God]  toward  whom  I  can  extend  my  hand,  I  am 
what  I  am,  and  that  concerns  only  Him  and  me. 


TRANSLATION   OP   THE   NICOLAS  TEXT  347 


273- 

I  am  constantly  saddened  by  the  motion  of  this  Wheel 
of  the  Heavens.  I  am  in  revolt  against  my  vile  nature. 
I  have  neither  enough  knowledge  to  hide  myself  and  not 
return  to  the  world,  nor  intelligence  enough  to  live  there 
without  preoccupying  myself  with  it. 


274. 

How  many  people  that  I  see  upon  the  surface  of  the 
earth  are  plunged  in  sleep  [superstition] !  How  many  I 
perceive  that  are  already  buried  in  its  depths!  When  I 
throw  my  eyes  over  this  desert  of  Not-being,  how  many 
people  I  see  who  have  not  yet  come  —  how  many  who 
have  already  departed! 


275- 

Thy  pity  being  promised  me,  I  have  no  fear  of  sin. 
With  the  provision  that  Thou  possessest,  I  have  no  dis- 
quiet about  the  journey.  Thy  benevolence  renders  my 
visage  white  and  of  the  black  book  I  have  no  fear. 


276. 

Be  not  led  to  believe  that  I  fear  the  world,  or  that  I 
have  fear  of  dying,  or  of  seeing  my  soul  go  its  way. 
Death  being  a  truth,  I  have  no  fear  of  it.  What  I  fear 
is  that  I  have  not  lived  well. 


348  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


277. 

How  long  shall  we  be  slaves  to  reason  and  to  every 
day?  What  matters  it  whether  we  remain  a  hundred 
years  in  this  world,  or  whether  we  dwell  here  but  a  day  ? 
Go,  bring  some  wine  in  a  bowl  before  we  are  trans- 
formed into  pitchers  in  the  workshop  of  some  potter. 


278. 

How  long  will  you  blame  us,  O  ignorant  man  of  God! 
We  are  the  patrons  of  the  tavern,  we  are  constantly  over- 
come with  wine.  You  are  given  up  entirely  to  your 
chaplet,  to  your  hypocrisy,  and  your  infernal  machinations. 
We,  cup  in  hand  and  always  near  the  object  of  our  love, 
live  in  accordance  with  our  desires. 


279. 

Let  us  sell  the  diadem  of  Khan,  the  crown  of  Kai,  let 
us  sell  it  and  buy  the  sound  of  a  flute,  let  us  sell  the 
turban  and  the  silken  cassock,  yea,  for  a  cup  of  wine  let 
us  sell  the  chaplet  which  in  itself  contains  naught  but 
hypocrisy. 


380. 

That  day  when  the  juice  of  the  vine  does  not  ferment 
in  my  head,  the  universe  could  offer  me  an  antidote  which 
would  be  a  poison  to  me.  Yea,  sorrow  over  the  things 
of  this  world  is  a  poison,  and  its  antidote  is  wine.  I  will 
take  the  antidote  then  that  I  may  have  no  fear  of  the 
poison. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE    NICOLAS   TEXT  349 


281. 

How  long  shall  we  blush  at  the  injustice  of  others? 
How  long  shall  we  burn  in  the  fire  of  this  insipid  world  ? 
Arise,  banish  from  thee  the  sorrow  of  the  world,  if  thou 
art  a  man;  to-day  is  a  feast;  come,  drink  rose-colored 
wine. 


282. 

I  am  in  continual  war  with  my  passions,  but  what  can 
I  do  ?  The  memory  of  my  deeds  causes  me  a  thousand 
regrets,  but  what  can  I  do  ?  I  admit  that  in  Thy  clem- 
ency Thou  mayest  pardon  my  faults,  but  the  shame  of 
knowing  that  Thou  knowest  what  I  have  done,  that  shame 
will  remain,  and  what  can  I  do  ? 


283. 

O  my  soul !  we  two  form  together  the  parallel  of  a  com- 
pass. Although  we  have  two  points,  we  make  but  one 
body.  Actually,  we  turn  upon  the  same  point  and  describe 
a  circle,  but  the  day  will  come  finally,  when  these  two 
points  shall  be  united. 


Since  this  world  is  not  a  place  of  permanent  sojourn  for 
us,  it  would  be  an  enormous  error  to  deprive  ourselves 
of  wine  and  abstain  from  the  favors  of  our  well-beloved. 
Oh,  peaceable  man!  how  long  these  discussions  upon  the 
creation  or  upon  the  eternity  of  the  world  ?  When  I  no 
longer  am,  what  will  it  matter  to  me  whether  it  be  ancient 
or  modern. 


350  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


285. 

Although  it  may  be  through  duty  that  I  present  myself 
at  the  mosque,  it  certainly  is  not  for  the  purpose  of 
making  a  prayer.  One  day  I  stole  a  sedjaddeJi  [prayer- 
rug].  The  sedjaddeh  is  worn  out;  I  have  returned 
again,  and  still  again. 


286. 

Be  not  cast  down  by  the  troubles  which  we  call  vicis- 
situdes here  below.  Let  us  occupy  ourselves  only  in 
drinking  pure  wine,  limpid  wine,  the  color  of  a  rose. 
Wine,  friend,  is  the  blood  of  the  world.  The  world  is 
our  murderer;  how  shall  we  resist  drinking  the  blood  of 
the  heart  of  him  who  spills  ours  ? 


287. 

For  the  love  which  I  bring  thee,  I  am  ready  to  undergo 
all  sorts  of  blame,  and  if  I  violate  my  vow,  I  submit 
to  the  penalty.  Oh !  had  I  to  endure  until  the  last  day 
the  torment  that  thou  causest  me,  that  space  of  time 
would  still  seem  too  short. 


288. 

We  have  arrived  too  late  in  this  circle  of  being,  and 
have  descended  below  human  dignity.  Oh!  since  life  is 
not  passed  in  accordance  with  our  vows,  it  is  better 
that  it  should  be  finished,  for  we  are  glutted  with  it! 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS   TEXT  351 


289. 

Since  the  world  is  perishable,  I  would  devise  some 
scheme  for  it ;  I  would  think  only  of  joy,  or  only  of  the 
limpid  wine.  They  say  to  me:  Would  God  might  make 
thee  renounce  it!  Nay,  would  that  He  might  not  give 
such  command,  for  if  He  gave  it,  I  would  not  obey! 


290. 

When,  with  bowed  head,  I  have  fallen  at  the  feet  of 
death;  when  this  destroying  angel  shall  have  made  me 
like  a  bird  robbed  of  its  plumage,  then  of  my  dust  make 
nothing  other  than  a  flask,  for  the  perfume  of  the  wine 
that  it  contains  might  revive  me  for  an  instant. 


291. 

When  I  examine  closely  the  things  of  this  world,  what 
I  see  is  that  human  beings  in  general  appropriate  to  them- 
selves, without  merit  on  their  part,  the  good  it  con- 
tains. As  for  me,  O  God  All-Powerful!  I  meet  only 
the  reverse  of  my  desires  in  all  that  falls  under  my  eyes ! 


292. 

It  is  I  who  am  the  chief  of  habitual  patrons  of  the 
tavern;  it  is  I  who  am  plunged  in  rebellion  against  the 
law,  it  is  I  who,  during  the  long  nights,  soaked  in  pure 
wine,  cry  out  to  God  the  griefs  of  my  heart  imbrued  with 
blood. 


352       QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 


293- 

How  grow  the  nights  without  which  we  could  not 
close  our  eyes,  and  before  which  a  cruel  fate  comes  first 
to  sadden  us!  Arise,  and  let  us  breathe  an  instant  ere 
the  breath  of  the  morning  stirs,  for,  very  long,  alas! 
will  this  Dawn  breathe  when  we   no  longer  breathe! 


294. 

Come,  see  the  Dawn,  and,  with  a  full  cup  of  rose- 
colored  wine  in  hand,  let  us  breathe  for  an  instant.  As 
for  honor,  reputation,  that  fragile  crystal,  let  us  break  it 
against  a  stone.  Renounce  insatiable  desires,  and  stroke 
the  silken  tresses  of  the  fair  and  list  the  harmonies  of  the 
harp. 


295- 

In  this  world,  where  each  breath  we  breathe  leads  to 
a  new  sorrow,  it  is  better  never  to  breathe  an  instant 
without  a  cup  of  wine  in  hand.  When  the  breath  of 
Aurora  makes  itself  felt,  arise  and,  time  after  time,  empty 
the  cup,  for  [as  I  have  told  you]  this  Dawn  will  breathe 
for  long,  long  years  when  we  no  longer  breathe. 


296. 

Should  I  commit  all  the  sins  of  the  universe,  still  Thy 
pity,  I  dare  believe,  would  extend  its  hand  to  me.  Hast 
Thou  not  promised  to  put  off  the  day  when  I  should  be 
a  prey  to  my  infirmities  ?  [Accomplish  Thy  promise  and 
for  that]  exact  not  a  state  more  frightful  than  that  in 
which  Thou  seest  me  at  this  moment. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS   TEXT  353 


297. 

If  I  am  drunk  with  old  wine,  ah,  well !  I  am.  If  I  am 
an  infidel,  fire  worshipper  or  idolater,  ah,  well !  that  I  am. 
Each  group  of  individuals  forms  some  idea  on  my  ac- 
count. But  what  matters  it  ?  I  belong  to  myself  and  I 
am  what  I  am. 


298. 

From  the  time  since  I  am,  I  have  not  been  for  an  in- 
stant without  drunkenness.  This  night  is  that  of  Kidr 
and  I  this  night  am  drunk;  my  lips  are  glued  to  that  of 
the  cup  and,  leaning  my  breast  against  the  jar,  I  have 
held  the  neck  of  the   flask  in    my  hand  until   day. 


299. 

I  am  constantly  attracted  by  the  sight  of  limpid  wine, 
my  ears  are  ever  attentive  to  the  melodious  sounds  of 
the  flute  and  of  the  rubab  [viol].  Oh,  if  the  potter  make 
a  pitcher  of  my  dust,  would  that  that  pitcher  might  con- 
stantly be  full  of  wine! 


300. 

I  understand  all  that  annihilation  and  being  apparently 
paean;  I  know  the  foundation  of  lofty  thought.     Ah,  well! 
may  all  this  knowledge    be    annihilated  in  me  if  I  recog- 
nize in  man  a  higher  state  than  that  of  drunkenness! 
23 


354  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


301. 

I  indeed  drink  wine,  but  I  commit  no  disorder.  1 
stretch  out  my  hand,  but  it  is  only  to  seize  the  cup. 
Would  you  know  why  I  am  an  adorer  of  wine  ?  It  is 
because  I  do  not  wish  to  imitate  you  and  be  an  adorer 
of  myself. 


302. 

Are  you  discreet  enough  for  me  to  tell  you  in  a  few 
words  what  man  has  been  from  the  beginning  ?  A  miser- 
able creature,  moulded  in  the  clay  of  chagrin.  He  has, 
for  a  few  years,  eaten  his  morsel  here  below,  and  then 
has  raised  his  foot  and  gone  away. 


303- 

It  is  the  rim  of  the  wine-jar  which  we  have  chosen  for 
our  place  of  prayer;  it  is  in  making  use  of  wine  that  we 
are  rendered  worthy  of  the  name  of  man;  it  is  in  the 
tavern  that  we  get  back  the  time  lost  in  the  mosque. 


304. 

It  is  we  who  are  the  true  aim  of  universal  creation;  it 
is  we  who,  in  the  eyes  of  wisdom,  are  the  essence  of  di- 
vine regard.  The  circle  of  this  world  is  like  a  ring  and, 
without  doubt,   we  are  the  jeweled  signet  of  it. 


TZ^ANSLATION   OF   THE  NICOLAS  TEXT         355 


305. 

Drunkenness  has  transported  us  from  our  own  misery 
here  below  to  untold  joys;  from  our  humble  condition,  it 
has  raised  our  heads  to  the  skies.  Nevertheless,  behold 
us  finally  freed  from  our  thraldom  to  the  body!  Behold 
us  returned  again  to  the  earth,  whence  we  came! 


306. 

If  I  have  eaten  during  the  days  of  Ramazan,  do  not 
believe  I  did  it  through  inadvertence.  The  fatiguing 
hardships  of  the  fast  have  so  turned  about  my  days  and 
nights  [the  one  for  the  other]  that  I  have  always  believed 
in  eating  the  morning  repast. 


307- 

We  have  constantly  heads  overcome  with  wine;  the 
presence  of  wine  alone  animates  our  society.  Then 
leave  off  thy  counsel,  O  ignorant  penitent!  [you  see 
that]  we  are  the  adorers  of  wine,  and  that  the  lips  of 
the  object  of  our  love  are  turned  to  our  desires. 


308. 

This  is  the  season  of  roses.  Oh!  I  would  now  give 
rein  to  one  of  my  desires.  I  would  commit  an  act  which 
infringes  on  the  law  of  the  Koran.  Yea,  for  some  days, 
in  company  of  the  fair  with  velvet  and  bright  tinted  cheeks 
spreading  rose-colored  wine  over  the  green  turf,  I  would 
transform  the  plain  into  a  field  of  tulips. 


356  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


3^9- 

When  in  this  world  joy  seizes  us,  when  it  gives  to  our 
complexion  the  brilliant  lustre  of  the  courser  of  the  fir- 
mament [the  sun],  then  I  love  to  be  in  a  green  prairie 
in  the  midst  of  beauties  with  velvet  cheeks,  and  partake 
with  them  of  this  sweet  green  hasheesh  ere  going  again 
myself  under  this  earth  covered  with  green  sod. 


310. 

Never  have  we  tasted  in  happiness  a  drop  of  water 
without  the  hand  of  grief  appearing  to  present  to  us  its 
bitter  beverage.  Never  have  we  dipped  a  piece  of  bread 
in  salt  without  the  salt  returning  to  re-open  half-healed 
wounds  of  the  heart. 


311. 

Take  care,  take  good  care  of  making  noise  in  a  tavern! 
Pass  the  time  there,  but  avoid  all  agitation.  Sell  the 
turban,  sell  the  book  [the  Koran]  to  buy  wine.  Finally, 
let  us  pass  through  the  medresseh  [school  of  the  mosques], 
but  let  us  not  stop  there. 


312. 

Every  day,  at  dawn,  I  go  to  the  tavern.  There  I  give 
myself  to  the  company  of  kalendar  hypocrites.  O  Thou, 
who  art  the  master  of  secrets  most  concealed,  give  me 
faith,  if  Thou  wishest  me  to  apply  myself  to  prayer. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS  TEXT  357 


313- 

To  the  cares  of  this  world,  let  us  not  accord  as  much 
value,  even,  as  to  a  grain  of  barley ;  oh !  let  us  be  happy ! 
If  we  have  something  for  breakfast,  we  may  have  noth- 
ing for  dinner;  oh!  let  us  be  happy!  Although  nothing 
well  cooked  comes  to  us  from  the  kitchen,  let  us  not  ad- 
dress our  troublesome  prayers  to  any  one;  oh!  let  us  be 
happy ! 


3M- 

Not  a  single  day  do  I  feel  myself  free  from  the  trouble- 
some bonds  of  this  world;  not  for  a  single  instant  do  I 
breathe  contented  with  my  being.  I  have  long  served 
an  apprenticeship  to  human  vicissitudes,  and  I  have  not 
yet  become  master,  either  in  that  which  concerns  this 
world,  or  in  what  has  to  do  with  the  other. 


315- 

We,  in  one  hand,  take  the  Koran;  with  the  other  we 
seize  the  cup:  sometimes  you  see  us  carried  away  with 
that  which  is  lawful,  sometimes  with  what  is  prohibited. 
We,  then,  beneath  this  azure  vault,  are  not  completely 
infidel,  or  absolutely  Musulman. 


316. 

Present  a  salutation  on  my  account  to  Mostapha,  and 
afterward  say  to  him  with  all  the  deference  due:  O 
Lord  Hachemite !  why,  in  accordance  with  the  law  of  the 
Koran,  is  the  sharp  doug  [whey]  lawful,  yet  pure  wine 
prohibited  ? 


3S8  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


317- 

Present  a  salutation  on  my  part  to  Khayyam,  and  then 
say  to  him :  O  Khayyam !  you  are  an  ignorant  man.  When 
have  I  said  that  wine  was  prohibited  ?  It  is  lawful  for 
intelligent  men;   it  is  prohibited  only  to  the  ignorant. 


318. 

O  thou  that  lusteth  night  and  day  for  the  goods  of 
this  world,  dost  thou  not  reflect  upon  the  terrible  day  ? 
Take  into  consideration  thy  last  breath,  come  back  to 
self,  and  see  how  time  deals  with  others. 


319- 

O  thou  who  art  the  summing  up  of  the  universal  cre- 
ation, cease  for  an  instant  to  occupy  thyself  with  gain  or 
loss;  take  a  cup  of  wine  from  the  hand  of  the  etern 
cupbearer,  and  free  thyself  thus  altogether  from  the  cares 
of  this  world  and  from  those  of  the  other! 


320. 

If  you  know  to  what  to  cling  upon  this  walk  around 
a  circle  without  end,  you  must  recognize  two  classes 
of  men:  those  who  understand  perfectly  its  good  and  its 
bad  side,  and  those  who  have  no  notion  either  of  them- 
selves or  of  things  here  below. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS   TEXT  359 


321. 


Render  light  to  my  heart  the  weight  of  the  vicissitudes 
of  this  world.  Conceal  from  mortals  my  reprehensible  ac- 
tions. Render  me  happy  to-day,  and  to-morrow  make  me 
what  thou  deemest  worthy  of  Thy  pity. 


322. 

For  him  who  makes  account  of  human  ills,  joy,  sor- 
row, pain  are  all  identical.  The  good  and  the  bad  of 
this  world  must  one  day  end.  What  matters  it  whether 
all  be  torment  or  pleasure  for  us  ? 


323- 

Now  that  the  nightingale  has  made  its  voice  heard, 
think  no  longer  of  anything,  but  seize  the  ruby  cup  of 
wine  from  the  hand  of  the  drinkers;  arise,  come,  for  the 
rose  blossoms  are  breathing  out  joy;  avenge  thyself, 
avenge  thyself  for  two  or  three  days  for  the  torments 
thou  hast  endured. 


324. 


Notice  this  cup  made  of  clay;  it  is  possessed  of  a 
soul!  They  say  a  jasmine  produces  the  flowers  of  the 
Judas-tree.  But  what  do  I  say  ?  The  shining  purity  of 
wine  is  a  cause  of  my  error?  Oh,  no  [it  is  not  wine],  it  is 
diaphanous  water  shot  with  a  liquid  fire. 


36o  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


325- 

Arise,  leave  the  cares  of  this  world  which  are  fleeting; 
be  joyous,  pass  gaily  this  life  of  a  moment;  for  if  the 
favors  of  heaven  had  been  constant  to  others,  this  turn 
of  joy  would  not  have  come  to  you. 


326. 

Listen  to  me,  O  thou  who  hast  not  seen  old  friends 
[of  experience]  !  Vex  not  thyself  with  this  Wheel  of 
Heaven  which  has  neither  surface  nor  foundation :  content 
thyself  with  what  thou  hast  and,  as  a  peaceable  spectator, 
observe  here  below  the  various  games  to  which  men  are 
destined. 


327. 

Employ  all  thy  efforts  to  be  agreeable  to  drinkers, 
and  follow  the  good  counsel  of  Khayyam.  O  friend! 
demolish  the  bases  of  prayer  and  of  fasting,  drink  wine, 
steal  if  you  will,  but  do  good. 


328. 

Justice  is  the  soul  of  the  universe;  the  universe  is  the 
body.  The  angels  are  the  wit  of  the  body;  the  heavens 
the  elements,  the  creatures  in  it  are  the  members ;  behold 
here  the  eternal  unity.     The  rest  is  only  trumpery. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS   TEXT  361 


329- 

Yesterday  evening,  in  the  tavern,  the  object  of  my 
heart  that  ravishes  my  soul  [God]  presented  me  a  cup 
with  a  ravishing  air  of  sincerity  and  a  desire  to  please 
me,  inviting  me  to  drink.  No,  said  I  to  him,  I  will 
not  drink.  Drink,  he  answered  me,  for  the  love  of  my 
heart. 


330- 

Do  you  wish  the  universe  to  submit  itself  to  your  will  ? 
Occupy  yourself  without  ceasing  in  fortifying  your  soul. 
Share  my  mood,  which  consists  in  drinking  wine  and 
never  taking  to  myself  the  cares  of  things  here  below. 


331. 


The  sages  who  have  well  considered  this  world  of 
dust,  this  sojourn  of  inconstancy  from  one  end  to  the 
other,  see  nothing  in  it  agreeable  but  wine  in  ruby 
cups  and  beautiful  countenances. 


332- 


Thanks  to  the  iniquity  of  this  Wheel  of  Heaven  which 
resembles  a  mirror,  thanks  to  the  periodic  motion  of 
time  which  accords  its  favors  only  to  the  most  abject, 
my  cheeks,  hollowed  like  a  cup,  are  bathed  in  tears ;  but, 
like   a   flask,    my   heart  is   full   of  blood. 


362  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


333. 

Yesterday  [before  day],  in  company  with  a  charming 
friend  and  a  cup  of  rose-colored  wine,  I  was  seated  on 
the  border  of  a  brook.  Before  me  stood  the  cup,  that 
shell,  of  which  the  pearl  [contained  in  the  cup]  shed 
such  a  brilliant  light  that  the  herald  of  the  sun,  awaking 
with  a  start,  announced   the  Dawn. 


334. 

Forget  the  day  which  has  been  cut  off  from  thy  exist- 
ence; disturb  not  thyself  about  to-morrow,  which  has  not 
yet  come;  rest  not  upon  that  which  is  or  that  which 
is  no  more;  live  happily  one  instant  and  throw  not  thy 
life   to   the   winds. 


335- 

Art  not  ashamed  to  give  thyself  to  corruption  ?  —  to 
neglect  thus  both  what  is  commanded  and  what  is  for- 
bidden ?  Even  if  you  succeed  in  appropriating  all  the 
goods  of  the  earth  to  yourself,  what  can  you  do  with 
them  except  to  abandon  them  in  your  turn  ? 


336. 

I  have  seen  a  man  betake  himself  to  sterile  soil.  He 
was  neither  a  heretic  nor  a  Musulman;  he  had  neither 
riches  nor  religion,  nor  God,  nor  truth,  nor  law,  nor  certi- 
tude. Who  in  this  world  or  in  the  other  would  have 
so  much  courage  ? 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS   TEXT  363 


337- 

One  host  of  men  is  pondering  upon  belief,  or  on  the 
faith ;  others  are  hovering  between  doubt  and  certainty. 
But  suddenly  behind  the  veil  there's  one  will  cry:  O 
ignorant  ones!  the  way  that  you  seek  is  neither  here 
nor  there! 


338. 

There  hangs  in  the  heavens  a  bull  called  Parwin 
[Pleiades],  and  another  bull  is  underneath  the  earth.  To 
the  eyes  of  intelligence  or  those  who  live  in  certainty, 
I  show  a  herd  of  asses  placed  between  two  beeves. 


339. 

Some  said  to  me:  Drink  less  of  wine.  What  reason 
have  you  for  not  giving  it  up  ?  The  reason  that  I  give 
is  first  the  face  of  my  friend  [God]  and  secondly  the 
morning  cup.  Be  just  and  tell  me,  Is  it  possible  to  give 
a  more  luminous  reason? 


340. 


If  I  possessed  in  the  heavens  the  power  which  God 
exercises  there,  I  would  destroy  the  people  of  this  world, 
and  others  I  would  make  in  my  own  way,  so  that  man, 
freed  [from  the  bonds  of  superstition],  could  attain  here 
below  the  desires  of  his  heart. 


364  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


341- 

My  poor  heart,  full  of  grief  and  folly,  has  not  been 
able  to  free  itself  from  drunkenness  where  passion  for 
my  well-beloved  has  plunged  it.  Oh !  the  day  when  the 
wine  of  this  love  was  distributed,  my  portion  was,  with- 
out doubt,  drawn  from  the  blood  of  my  heart! 


342. 

To  drink  wine  and  seek  beautiful  faces  is  wiser  than 
to  practise  hypocrisy  and  apparent  devotion.  It  is  evi- 
dent that  if  there  exist  a  Hell  for  lovers  and  drinkers, 
no  one  would  wish  for  Paradise. 


343- 

Scorn  the  words  of  coquettish  women,  but  accept  limpid 
wine  from  the  hand  of  those  whose  mien  is  irreproach- 
able. You  know  that  all  those  who  have  made  their  ap- 
pearance in  this  world  are  partly  of  one  kind  and  partly 
of  the  other,  and  it  is  not  given  to  any  to  see  a  single 
one  that  may  come  back. 


344- 

It  is  not  necessary  to  soften  and  disgrace  a  joyous  heart 
by  sorrow,  to  break  under  the  stones  of  torment  our 
moments  of  delight.  As  no  one  is  able  to  tell  what  is 
to  be,  what  is  necessary  is  some  wine,  a  beloved  mistress 
[the  Divinity],  and  repose  according  to  our  desires. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS  TEXT  365 


345- 

Yes,  it  is  beautiful  to  enjoy  good  fame;  it  is  shameful 
to  complain  of  the  injustice  of  heaven;  it  is  better  to 
become  drunk  with  the  juice  of  the  grape,  than  to  be 
puffed  up  with  false  devotion. 


346. 

O  God!  be  pitiful  to  my  poor  imprisoned  heart;  show 
pity  to  my  bosom,  susceptible  to  so  much  sorrow ;  pardon 
my  feet  which  lead  me  to  the  tavern;  pardon  my  hand 
which  seizes  the  cup! 


347- 

O  God !  deliver  me  from  calculating,  more  or  less,  upon 
the  things  of  this  world ;  make  me  preoccupied  with  Thee, 
and  free  me  from  myself.  While  I  have  my  sound  reason 
good  and  bad  are  known  to  me;  render  me  drunk  and 
free  me  from  this  knowledge  of  good  and  bad. 


348. 

This  Wheel  of  Heaven  runs  after  my  death  and  thine, 
my  friend;  it  conspires  against  my  soul  and  thine. 
Come,  seat  thyself  upon  the  turf,  for,  indeed,  small  time 
remains  to  us  before  new  turf  shall  germinate  from  my 
dust  and  from  thine. 


366  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


349- 

When  we  shall  have  lost  my  soul  and  thine,  they  will 
place  bricks  upon  thy  tomb  and  mine.  Then,  in  order 
to  cover  other  tombs  with  bricks,  they  will  throw  my  dust 
and  thine  into  the  kiln  of  the  brick-maker. 


35°- 

In  this  castle  which  by  its  splendor  rivals  the  heavens, 
this  castle  to  which  sovereigns  succeeded  with  delight,  we 
have  seen  a  turtledove  seated  on  the  ruined  battlements 
crying:    Kou,  kou,  kou,  kou  [Where?   Where?]. 


351- 

What  advantage  has  our  coming  into  this  world  pro- 
duced ?  What  advantage  will  result  from  our  departure  ? 
What  remains  to  us  of  the  heap  of  hopes  that  we  have 
conceived.  Where  is  the  smoke  of  all  the  pure  men  who 
under  the  celestial  fire  have  been  consumed  and  become 
dust  ? 


352- 

O  Thou  whose  lips  secrete  the  water  of  life,  permit 
not  those  of  the  cup  to  come  and  kiss  them!  [Oh,  if 
Thou  shouldst  permit  it],  may  I  lose  the  name  of  man 
if  I  am  not  soaked  in  the  blood  of  the  flask,  for  what  is 
it,  this  cup,  to  dare  to  touch  its  lips  to  Thine  ? 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE  NICOLAS  TEXT         367 


353. 

I  am  such  as  Thy  power  has  made  me.  I  have  lived  a 
hundred  years  filled  with  Thy  benevolence  and  benefits. 
I  would  like  still  a  hundred  years  to  commit  sin  and  to 
see  if  the  sum  of  my  faults  outweighed  Thy  pity. 


354- 

Now  take  thy  cup,  carry  away  the  gourd,  O  Charm  of 
my  Heart!  and  go,  explore  the  plains,  the  borders  of 
the  brooks,  for  indeed  idols,  like  to  the  moon  in  the  light 
of  their  beautiful  countenances,  have  a  hundred  times 
been  transformed  into  cups,  a  hundred  times  have  they 
become  gourds. 


355- 

It  is  we  who  buy  old  wine  and  new  wine,  and  it  is  we 
who  sell  the  world  for  two  grains  of  barley.  Know  where 
you  will  go  after  death  ?  Bring  me  some  wine  and  go 
where  you  will. 


356. 

Who  is  the  man  who  here  below  has  not  committed 
sin ;  can  you  say  ?  Had  he  not  committed  it,  could  he 
have  lived,  can  you  tell  ?  If,  because  I  do  evil,  you 
punish  me  for  evil,  what  then  is  the  difference  between 
you  and  me,  can  you  say  ? 


368  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


357- 

Oh!  where  is  that  one  whose  lips  are  of  rubies,  where 
that  precious  stone  of  Bedekhchan  ?  Where  is  that  wine 
full  of  perfume  which  gives  repose  to  the  soul  ?  They 
say  that  the  religion  of  Islam  prohibits  it;  drink,  friend, 
and  have  no  fear,  for  where  do  you  see  Islam  ? 


358. 

Best  is  it  to  abstain  from  all  that  is  not  joyful;  and 
best  it  is  to  receive  the  cup  from  the  hands  of  odalisques 
shut  up  in  the  palaces  of  the  princes;  but  best  of  all  is 
drunkenness,  indifference  to  the  Kalendars,  forgetfulness 
of  self.  A  mouthful  of  wine,  finally,  is  worth  more 
than  all  that  exists  in  the  space  between  Mah  and 
Mahi. 


359- 

For  thee,  that  which  is  best  is  to  flee  from  the  seek- 
ing of  knowledge  and  devotion;  to  finger  the  tresses  of 
thy  ravishing  friend;  to  pour  into  the  cup  the  blood 
of  the  vine  ere  time  has  spilled  thine  own. 


360. 

O  friend!  be  in  repose  amidst  human  vicissitudes;  dis- 
turb not  thyself  in  vain  because  of  the  march  of  time. 
When  the  envelope  of  thy  being  shall  be  torn  in  tatters, 
what  matters  what  thou  hast  done,  what  thou  hast  said, 
or  how  defiled  thou  mayest  be  ? 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS   TEXT  369 


361. 

O  thou  who  hast  not  done  good,  but  who  hast  done 
evil,  and  who  hast  afterward  sought  refuge  in  the  Divin- 
ity, guard  thyself  from  relying  upon  pardon;  for  he  who 
has  done  nothing  resembles  no  more  him  who  has  sinned 
than  he  who  has  sinned  resembles  him  who  has  done 
nothing! 


362. 

Count  upon  life  not  longer  than  the  sixtieth  year. 
Place  thy  foot  in  no  direction  without  being  overcome 
with  wine.  As  long  as  thy  skull  hath  not  been  made  a 
pitcher,  go  always  on  thy  way,  nor  take  the  wine-gourd 
from  thy  shoulder  or  the  wine-cup  from  thy  hand. 


3^3- 

This  firmament  is  a  porringer  overturned  upon  our 
heads.  Wise  men,  thereat,  humble  and  unpresumptuous 
are.  But  see  the  friendship  which  obtains  between  the 
cup  and  the  flask.  Lip  against  lip  are  they,  and  twixt 
them  ever  flows  the  blood. 


364. 

I  have  swept  the  sill  of  the  tavern  with  my  hair.  Yes, 
I  have  given  up  reflecting  upon  the  good  and  the  bad 
in  this  world  and  the  next.  I  saw  them,  like  two  bowls, 
rolling  in  a  ditch,  when  I  was  sleeping  overcome  with 
wine,  and  I  no  more  occupied  myself  with  them  than  if 
I  had  seen  a  grain  of  barley  rolling  along. 
24 


370  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


365- 

The  drop  of  water  began  to  weep  on  being  separated 
from  the  ocean.  The  ocean  began  to  laugh,  saying  to 
it:  It  is  we  who  are  all;  in  truth,  there  is  no  other  God 
beside  us,  and  if  we  are  separated,  it  is  only  by  a  simple 
point  almost  invisible. 


566. 

How  long  shall  I  trouble  myself  with  the  care  of  know- 
ing whether  I  possess  or  do  not  possess  —  if  I  ought  or 
ought  not  to  pass  life  gaily  ?  Fill  ever  the  cup  of  wine, 
O  cupbearer!  for  I  do  not  know  whether  I  shall  breathe 
out  this  breath  that  I  am  actually  breathing  or  not. 


367- 

Become  not  a  prey  to  sorrow  in  this  world  of  iniquity; 
recall  not  to  th}-  soul  the  memory  of  those  who  are  no 
longer  here ;  give  up  thy  heart  only  to  a  friend  with  sweet 
lips  and  fairy-like  in  form  and  never  be  deprived  of 
wine,  or  throw  life  to  the  winds. 


36S. 

How  long  will  you  speak  to  me  of  the  mosque,  of 
prayer  and  fasting  ?  Go  rather  to  the  tavern  and  in- 
toxicate yourself,  and  even  for  that  ask  alms.  O  Khay- 
yam !  drink  wine,  drink ;  for  this  earth  of  which  thou 
art  composed   will  be  made  into  cups,  bowls,  and  pitchers. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS  TEXT          371 


369. 

So  in  this  palace  of  brief  being,  you  ought,  O  wise  man, 
to  give  yourself  up  to  rose-colored  wine.  Then  each 
atom  of  your  dust  that  the  wind  carries  away  will  fall 
on  the  sill  of  the  tavern,  all  saturate  with  wine. 


370- 

Note  how  the  zephyrs  have  made  the  roses  bloom! 
Note  how  their  fragrant  beauty  glads  the  nightingale! 
Go,  then,  repose  in  the  shadow  of  these  flowers,  for 
very  speedily  they  depart  from  the  earth  and  very  often 
ne'er  return  again. 


37'- 

Behold  us  re-united  in  the  midst  of  lovers;  behold  us 
freed  from  the  pain  which  time  inflicts;  having  emptied 
the  cup  of  His  love,  behold  us  all  free,  all  tranquil,  all 
o'ercome  with  wine. 


372- 

Suppose  that  you  have  lived  in  this  world  in  accord- 
ance with  your  desires ;  ah,  well !  after  that  ?  Think  to 
yourself  that  the  end  of  your  days  has  arrived;  ah,  well! 
after  that  ?  Admitting  that  you  have  lived  for  a  hundred 
years  surrounded  by  all  that  your  heart  could  desire, 
imagine  in  your  turn,  that  you  have  another  hundred 
years  to  live;  ah,  well!  after  that? 


372  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


373. 

Do  you  know  how  the  cypress  and  the  lily  have  acquired 
the  name  for  freedom  v/hich  they  enjoy  among  men  ? 
It  is  because  one  has  ten  tongues  but  remains  mute,  and 
the  other  possesses  a  hundred  hands  and  keeps  them  all 
empty. 


374- 

O  cupbearer!  put  into  my  hand  some  of  that  delicious 
wine,  some  of  that  juice  attractive  as  a  charming  idol, 
some  of  that  nectar,  in  short,  which  like  a  chain  whose 
links,  turning  and  returning  upon  each  other,  hold  fools 
and  sages  alike  in  sweet  captivity. 


375- 

O  regret !  that  life  should  be  passed  in  pure  loss !  How 
lawless  all  our  eating  and  how  defiled  our  bodies!  I 
have  the  blame,  O  God!  of  not  having  done  what  Thou 
hast  commanded.  What  will  come  to  me  for  having  done 
what  Thou  hast  not  commanded  ? 


376. 

Fret  not  thyself  on  account  of  the  inconstancy  of 
this  world;  seek  wine  and  draw  near  to  thy  caressing 
mistress,  for,  thou  seest  that  he  whom  his  mother  brought 
forth  to-day  to-morrow  disappears  from  the  earth  —  to- 
morrow returns  to  annihilation. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS   TEXT  373 


377. 


I  can  renounce  all  else,  but  wine  never;  for  I  have  the 
means  of  making  amends  for  all  else,  but  of  wine,  never, 
O  God!  could  one  like  me  become  a  Musulman  and  re- 
nounce old  wine  ?     Never. 


378. 

"We  are  all  lovers,  all  drunkards,  all  adorers  of  wine. 
We  are  all  united  in  the  tavern,  having  banished  far 
from  us  all  that  is  good,  all  that  is  evil,  all  reflection 
and  revery.  Oh!  expect  not  intelligence  or  reason  of  us, 
for  we  are  all  overcome  with  wine. 


379- 

It  is  we  who  have  confidence  in  the  divine  goodness, 
who  have  shaken  off  the  ideas  of  obedience  and  sin;  for 
where  Thy  benevolence  exists,  O  God,  he  who  has  done 
nothing  is  equal  to  him  who  has  done  something. 


380. 

Thou  hast  imprinted  on  our  being,  O  God,  such  singular 
phantasma  of  inconsequence,  and  hast  made  to  rise  such 
strange  phenomena.  Myself  cannot  be  better  than  I  am, 
for  Thou  hast  taken  me  as  I  am  from  out  creation's 
crucible. 


374  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


381. 

We  have  violated  all  the  vows  that  we  have  made;  we 
have  closed  upon  us  the  door  of  what  is  called  good  and 
what  is  called  bad.  Then  blame  me  not  if  you  see  me 
committing  senseless  deeds,  for  we  are  drunk  with  the 
wine  of  love,  and  all  are  drunk  as  we. 


382. 

A  mouthful  of  old  wine  is  of  more  worth  than  a  new 
empire.  The  wise  man  will  reject  all  that  is  not  wine. 
A  cup  of  this  nectar  is  a  hundred  times  preferable  to 
the  kingdom  of  Feridoun.  The  lid  which  covers  the  wine- 
jar  is  more  precious  than  the  diadem  of  Kai-Khosrou. 


383. 

O  my  heart!  thou  canst  not  penetrate  the  enigmatical 
secrets  of  the  heavens;  thou  canst  never  reach  the  cul- 
minating point  to  which  intrepid  sages  have  attained. 
Be  content,  then,  to  organize  a  Paradise  here  below,  in 
making  daily  use  of  cup  and  wine,  for  wilt  thou  ever  reach 
that  future  Paradise  ?     Thou  never  wilt. 


384. 

Those  who  are  gone  before  us,  O  cupbearer!  are  im- 
bedded in  the  dust  of  pride.  Go,  drink  wine;  go,  listen 
to  the  truth  that  I  tell  you:  All  those  who  have  gone 
ahead  are  but  as  the  wind;   know   it   well,  O    cupbearer! 


TRANSLATION    OF   THE   NICOLAS   TEXT  375 


385. 

From  afar  has  appeared  a  filthy  shape.  It  is  said  that 
its  body  was  covered  with  a  shirt  made  of  the  smoke 
of  Hell.  It  was  neither  a  man  nor  a  woman.  It  has 
broken  our  flask  and  spilled  upon  the  earth  the  ruby  wine 
it  contained,  glorifying  itself  at  having  done  a  deed  worthy 
of  a  man. 


386. 

O  my  heart !  when  thou  art  admitted  to  sit  at  the  ban- 
quet of  this  idol  [the  Divinity],  it  is  after  thou  hast  gone 
out  of  thyself  in  order  to  re-enter  thyself  again.  When 
thou  hast  tasted  a  mouthful  of  the  wine  of  annihilation, 
thou  art  entirely  separate  from  those  that  are  and  from 
those  that  are  no   more. 


387. 

Yes,  I  have  found  myself  in  close  acquaintance  with 
wine,  with  drunkenness.  But  why  does  the  world  blame 
me  for  it  ?  Oh !  would  to  God  that  all  which  is  illegal 
might  produce  drunkenness!  For  then  never  here  below 
should  I  have  seen  a  shadow  of  sound  reason. 


388. 

Thou  hast  broken  my  pitcher  of  wine,  my  God!  Thou 
hast  shut  upon  me  the  portals  of  joy,  my  God!  Thou 
hast  poured  upon  earth  my  limpid  wine,  my  God  !  Oh! 
[would  that  my  mouth  were  filled  with  earth!]  couldst 
Thou  have  been  drunk,  my  God  ? 


376  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


389. 

O  thou  who  art  the  result  of  the  four  [elements]  and 
the  seven  [heavens],  I  see  you  in  perplexity  amongst 
these  four  and  seven.  Drink  wine,  for,  as  I  have  said 
to  you  more  than  four  times,  you  will  return  no  more; 
once  departed,  you  are  gone  indeed. 


39°- 

On  one  hand.  Thou  hast  raised  a  hundred  ambushes 
about  us;  on  the  other,  Thou  sayest  to  us:  If  ye  put 
foot  there,  ye  shall  be  caught  by  death.  It  is  Thou  who 
spreadest  snares,  and  whoever  falls  there.  Thou  bringest 
to  a  stand!  Thou  givest  him  to  death  and  callest  him 
rebel ! 


39«- 

O  Thou  whose  mysterious  essence  is  impenetrable  to 
intelligence,  Thou  who  carest  no  more  for  our  obedience 
than  our  faults,  I  am  drunk  with  sin,  but  the  confidence 
that  I  have  in  Thee  renders  it  right  for  me.  Know 
Thou,  that  I  count  upon  Thy  pity. 


392. 

If   this   world's    things  were   only   based   on  show,   oh ! 

then  each    day   would   be   a  feast.      Oh!   were  it   not   for 

these  vain  threats,  each  could  attain  below  the  aim  of  his 
desires,  without  a  fear. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS   TEXT  377 


393- 

O  Wheel  of  Heaven!  thou  fillest  constantly  my  heart 
with  woe.  Thou  killest  in  me  the  germ  of  joy,  with 
water  ladening  the  air  which,  would  breathe,  and  chang- 
est  into  mud  the  water  that  I  drink. 


394- 

O  my  heart !  if  thou  free  thyself  from  the  grief  inherent 
in  matter,  thou  shalt  become  a  soul  in  all  its  purity;  thou 
shalt  mount  to  the  heavens,  thy  residence  shall  be  the 
firmament.  Oh!  how  thou  shouldst  suffer  from  shame 
at  inhabiting  the  earth! 


395- 

O  potter!  be  attentive,  if  thou  possessest  sound  reason! 
How  long  wilt  thou  abase  man  in  moulding  his  clay  ?  It 
is  the  finger  of  Feridoun,  the  hand  of  Kai-Khosrou  which 
you  thus  put  upon  your  wheel. 


396. 

O  rose!  thou  art  the  face  of  some  young  ravishing 
fair!  O  wine!  thou  art  the  ruby  whose  brightness  joys 
my  soul !  O  fateful  fortune !  each  instant  thou  appearest 
more  strange  to  me,  and  nevertheless  I  seem  to  know 
thee. 


378  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


397. 

From  the  cookery  of  this  world,  thou  only  absorbest 
the  smoke.  How  long,  plunged  in  the  search  for  being 
and  annihilation,  wilt  thou  be  the  prey  of  sorrow  ?  This 
world  contains  only  loss  for  those  who  attach  themselves 
to  it.  Now  disregard  this  loss,  and  all  for  thee  will 
benefit  become. 


398. 

As  for  us,  let  us  not  try  to  torment  men  in  their 
sleep;  let  us  refrain  from  making  them  utter  at  midnight 
the  lamentable  cry:  O  my  God!  O  my  God!  [as  others 
do].  Rest  not  upon  riches  or  beauty,  for  the  one  will 
take  wings  in  the  night,  and  the  other,  in  the  night  also, 
will  be  ravished. 


399- 

If  from  the  commencement  Thou  hadst  wished  to  make 
me  known  to  myself^  why  later,  hast  Thou  separated  me 
from  this  myself?  If  from  the  first  day  Thy  intention 
was  to  abandon  me,  why  hast  Thou  thrown  me,  all 
amazed,  into  the  midst  of  the  world  ? 


400. 

Oh  I  would  to  God  that  there  existed  some  place  of  re- 
pose—  that  the  road  we  follow  had  some  settled  end! 
Would  God  that,  after  a  hundred  thousand  years,  we 
could  conceive  the  hope  of  one  new  birth  of  heart  upon 
the  earth  as  the  green  turf  is  born   again! 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS   TEXT  379 


401. 

While  I  was  drawing  a  horoscope  in  the  book  of  love, 
suddenly,  from  the  burning  heart  of  a  wise  man  came 
these  words:  Happy  is  he  who  entertains  in  his  dwelling 
a  friend  as  beautiful  as  the  moon,  and  who  has  in  pros- 
pect a  night  as  long  as  a  year' 


402. 


The  constant  sequence  of  springtime  and  autumn  makes 
the  leaves  of  our  existence  disappear.  Drink  wine,  my 
friend,  for  sages  have  well  said  that  grief  in  this  world 
is  a  poison  and  its  antidote  is  wine. 


403- 

O  my  heart!  drink  of  wine,  drink  of  it  in  a  garden 
and  enjoy  the  presence  of  thy  friend  [the  Divinity] ;  re- 
nounce hypocrisy  and  show.  Is  it  the  doctrine  of  Ahmed 
you  follow  ?  In  that  case,  draw  from  the  fountain-head 
a  cup  of  wine  into  the  bowl  which  Ali,  in  his  round  of 
cupbearing,  shall  serve. 


404. 


But  yesterday,  at  eve,  I  broke  a  china  cup  against  a 
stone.  I  was  drunk  when  committing  this  senseless  act. 
This  cup  seemed  to  say  to  me :  **  I  have  been  like  thee ; 
thou  wilt,  in  thy  turn,  be  like  me.* 


38o  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


405- 

The  flowers  are  in  blossom,  O  cupbearer!  bring-  wine. 
Leave  thy  acts  of  worship,  O  cupbearer!  Ere  the  angel 
of  death  put  a  watch  upon  us,  come,  and  with  a  cup  of 
ruby  wine  in  hand,  let  us  rejoice  while  yet  there  are 
some  days  with  the  sweet  presence  of  the  friend  [the 
Divinity]. 


406. 

Arise,  get  off  thy  bed,  O  cupbearer!  and  pour  the 
limpid  wine.  Before  they  yet  make  pitchers  of  our 
skulls,  pour  out  some  wine  from  pitcher  into  bowl,  O 
cupbearer  1 


407. 

This  hypocrisy  [which  I  everywhere  see],  O  cupbearer! 
crushes  my  heart  with  weariness.  Arise,  and  gaily  bring 
me  wine,  O  cupbearer!  and  to  procure  it,  put  in  pawn 
the  prayer-rug  and  the  turban.  Perhaps  my  arguments 
will  then  rest  upon  a  solid  basis. 


408. 

Examine  thyself,  if  thou  art  intelligent,  and  observe 
what  thou  hast  brought  in  the  beginning  and  what  thou 
wilt  carry  away  at  the  end.  Thou  sayest  that  thou  dost 
not  drink  because  one  must  die.  Whether  thou  drinkest 
friend,  or  dost  not  drink,  thou  needs  must  die. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS  TEXT         381 


409. 

Open  the  door,  for  it  is  only  Thou  who  canst  open  it ; 
show  me  the  way,  for  it  is  only  Thou  who  canst  show  a 
way  of  safety,  I  will  give  my  hand  to  none  of  those  who 
wish  to  lead  me,  for  all  are  perishable,  and  only  Thou 
eternal. 


410. 

All  that  you  tell  me  emanates  from  hatred  [O  mul 
lah]  !  You  never  cease  to  treat  me  as  an  atheist,  a  man 
without  religion.  I  am  convinced  of  that  which  I  am, 
and  I  avow  it;  and  should  I  be  right,  is  it  for  you  to 
lecture  me  thus  ? 


411. 


Resign  yourself  to  grief  if  you  would  find  a  remedy, 
and  do  not  complain  of  your  suffering  if  you  would  cure 
it.  In  poverty,  be  thankful  to  Providence,  if  you  wish 
some  day  to  have  riches  for  your  portion. 


412. 

I  have  seen  a  wise  man  in  the  house  of  a  drunken  man 
at  evening.  I  asked  him  if  he  could  give  me  some  news 
of  the  absent.  He  answered  me:  Drink  wine,  friend,  for 
many  like  you  have  gone  out  but  have   never  returned. 


382  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


413- 

I  seek  a  flask  of  ruby  wine,  a  book  of  verse,  a  mo- 
mentary peace  in  life  and  bread  enough.  And  if  with 
these,  my  friend,  in  some  lone  spot  with  thee  I  could 
repose,  'twould  be  a  happiness  above  a  Sultan's  regal  joy. 


414. 

How  long  these  arguments  upon  the  five  and  the  four, 
O  cupbearer?  In  comprehending  one,  O  cupbearer!  it  is 
difficult  to  grasp  a  hundred  thousand.  We  are  all  of  earth, 
O  cupbearer!  strike  the  harp:  we  are  all  as  the  wind, 
bring  the  wine,  O  cupbearer! 


415- 

How  long  will  you  speak  of  Yassin  and  Berat,  O  cup- 
bearer ?  Give  me  a  treatise  upon  the  tavern,  O  cupbearer! 
The  day  that  it  is  closed  will  be  for  me  the  night  of 
Berat,  O  cupbearer! 


416. 

While  you  have  in  your  body  bones,  veins,  and  nerves, 
place  not  your  foot  outside  the  limits  of  your  destiny. 
Yield  never  to  your  enemy,  be  that  enemy  Rustum, 
son  of  Zal;  accept  nothing  which  puts  you  under  obli- 
gation  to   a  friend,  be   that  friend   Hatim-tai. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS   TEXT  383 


417- 

You  may  indeed  be  taken  with  lips  tinted  with  the 
color  of  the  ruby,  you  may  indeed  appreciate  the  cup  of 
wine,  you  may  indeed  call  for  the  noise  of  the  drum,  the 
sound  of  the  harp  and  of  the  flute,  but  these  are  only 
trifles.  God  is  my  witness,  while  you  do  not  break  the 
bonds   of   this   dark  world,  you   nothing   are. 


418. 

Bestir  yourself,  since  you  are  under  this  tyrannic  vault ; 
drink  wine,  since  you  are  in  this  world,  a  seat  of  woe. 
And,  from  beginning  to  the  end,  being  only  earth,  act 
like  a  man  who  is  upon  the  earth,  and  not  as  if  thou 
wert  beneath  the   earth. 


419. 

Since  you  all  secrets  know,  my  friend,  why  be  a  prey 
to  so  many  vain  torments  ?  Suppose  things  do  not  fall 
in  touch  with  your  desires,  you  can  at  least  be  gay  while 
you  still  breathe. 


420. 


Everywhere  I  cast  my  eyes  I  believe  I  see  the  sod  of 
Paradise  and  the  brook  of  Koocer.  They  say  the  field 
outside  of  Hell  is  transformed  into  a  celestial  sojourn. 
Rest  then  in   that  celestial  place  near  some  celestial  fair. 


584  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


421. 

Follow  no  other  way  than  that  which  the  Kalendar 
follows;  seek  no  other  place  than  the  tavern;  occupy 
yourself  only  with  wine,  song  and  the  friend  [the  Divin- 
ity]; place  m  your  hand  a  cup  of  wine,  upon  your  back 
a  gourd;  drink,  O  dear  object  of  my  heart!  drink  and 
speak  not  of  foolish  things. 


422. 

Do  you  wish  life  to  rest  upon  a  rock  ?  Do  you  wish 
life  for  some  time  free  to  be  from  grief  ?  Dwell  for  one 
instant  without  drinking  wine;  then  at  each  breath  you'll 
find  a  new  attraction   in  existence. 


423- 

In  this  world,  this  house  of  pilferers,  it  is  useless  to 
count  upon  a  friend.  Listen  to  the  counsel  I  give  you, 
and  confide  it  to  no  one:  Bear  your  suffering  and  seek 
no  remedy  here,  be  happy  in  your  sorrows  and  try  not  to 
divide  them  with  another. 


424. 

There  are  two  things  which  are  the  foundation  of  wis- 
dom and  which  ought  to  be  put  among  the  number  of  the 
most  important  unproclaimed  revelations:  Not  to  eat  of 
anything  which  eats  of  other  things,  and  to  keep  oneself 
unsullied  by  all  that  lives. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS   TEXT  385 


425- 

How  is  it  that  at  the  commencement  of  springtime  the 
verjuice  of  the  vine  is  sharp  ?  And  afterwards,  how 
does  it  become  so  sweet  ?  And  then  how  do  we  find 
the  wine  so  bitter  ?  If  one  makes  viols  of  a  piece  of 
wood  by  means  of  a  curved  knife,  who  would  say  on 
seeing  it  that  a  flute  could  be  fashioned  by  the  same 
means  ? 


426. 

Know  you  v/hy,  at  the  break  of  day,  the  early-rising 
cock  makes  its  voice  heard  each  moment  ?  It  is  to  tell 
you,  through  the  mirror  of  the  morning,  that  one  more 
night  has  slipped  away  from  your  existence,  and  that 
you  are  still  in  ignorance. 


427. 

Give  me  some  of  this  ruby  wine,  tinted  like  the  tulip. 
Pour  from  the  neck  of  the  flask  the  pure  blood  it  con- 
tains, for,  to-day  I  can  see,  outside  this  cup  of  wine,  no 
friend  whose  inner  man  is  pure. 


428. 

Pour  me,  O  cupbearer!  some  wine  colored  like  the 
flowers  of  the  Judas-tree;  pour,  O  cupbearer!  for  grief 
comes  to  oppress  my  soul;  pour  for  me  the  nectar,  for 
it  is  possible  that  in  making  me  a  stranger  to  myself,  it 
will  free  me  one  instant  from  the  vicissitudes  of  this 
world. 
25 


386  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


429. 

Thy  cup,  O  my  cupbearer  I  contains  liquid  rubies;  give 
some  to  my  soul,  O  cupbearer!  Let  it  reflect  that  precious 
stone;  put  in  my  hand,  O  cupbearer,  this  incomparable 
cup,    for  through  this  I  will  give  new  life  unto  my  soul. 


430- 

In  philosophy,  if  you  are  an  Aristotle  or  a  Bouzourdj- 
mehr;  in  power,  if  you  are  some  Roman  emperor  or  some 
potentate  of  China,  drink  ever,  drink  wine  from  the  cup 
of  Djem,  for  the  end  of  all  is  the  tomb.  Oh!  though  you 
are  Bahram  himself,  the  coffin  is  your  last  sojourn. 


431- 
I  entered  the  studio  of   a  potter.      I  watched  him  work 
at   his   wheel,    actively   occupied    in    moulding   the    necks 
and    handles  of   pitchers,  forming   some    of  them  like   the 
heads  of  kings,  others  like   the  feet  of  beggars. 


432- 

Go,  choose  bliss,  if  you  are  wise,  and  finally  you  may 
be  able  to  drink  wine  from  the  hand  of  the  drinkers  of 
eternity;  but  you  are  one  of  the  ignorant  and  joy  is  not 
in  you,  it  is  not  given  to  every  ignorant  one  to  taste 
the   sweets   that  ignorance  gives. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS   TEXT  387 


433- 

O  idol,  while  you  are  on  your  journey  through  this 
world,  draw  from  the  fountain-head  into  the  pitcher,  draw 
this  salutary  wine  and,  ere  the  potter  makes  another 
pitcher  of  my  dust  and  thine,  fill  out  a  cup,  drink  it 
and   pass   me   one. 


434- 

Be  attentive,  friend,  and  while  thou  still  art  able,  lighten 
the  grief  of  a  loving  heart,  for  this  kingdom  of  grace 
that  now  thou  hast  will  not  last  always,  but,  like  so  many 
others  thou  shalt  unexpectedly  be  called. 


435- 

Before  you  are  made  drunk  by  the  cup  of  death,  be- 
fore the  revolutions  of  time  are  full  behind  you,  endeavor 
to  make  a  foundation  here  below,  for  you  will  profit 
nothing  by  going  away  empty-handed. 


436. 

It  is  Thou  who  disposest  of  the  lot  of  the  living  and 
of  the  dead.  It  is  Thou  who  governest  this  unruly  Wheel 
of  the  Heavens.  Although  I  am  bad,  I  am  only  Thy 
slave.  Thou  art  my  master.  Who  then  is  guilty  here 
below  ?     Art  Thou  not  the  Creator  of  all  ? 


388  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


437. 

O  my  King!  how  can  such  a  man  as  I,  finding  himself 
in  the  season  of  roses,  in  the  midst  of  joyous  society, 
surrounded  by  wine,  by  dancers,  remain  a  passive  spec- 
tator ?  Oh !  to  find  oneself  in  a  garden  with  a  flask  of 
wine  and  a  lute  are  things  preferable  to  Paradise  with 
its  houris  and  its  Koocer. 


438. 

See  the  clearness  of  the  light,  the  sparkle  of  the  wine 
and  of  the  moon,  O  cupbearer!  See  the  ravishing 
beauty  of  the  rose's  face,  like  a  shining  ruby,  O  cup- 
bearer! Recall  nothing  of  what  belongs  to  the  earth 
to  this  heart  that  burns  like  fire,  throw  it  not  to  the 
wind,  but  bring  wine,  O  cupbearer! 


439- 

O  limpid  wine,  wine  full  of  sheen !  Fool  that  I  am,  I'd 
drink  thee  in  such  quantity,  that  all  perceiving  me  from 
far  would  my  identity  confound  with  thine,  and  say  to 
me:     O  master  wine!  tell  me,  whence  do  you  come? 


440. 

Be  welcome.  Thou,  who  art  the  repose  of  my  soul! 
Thou  art  here,  and  nevertheless  I  cannot  believe  my 
eyes.  Oh!  for  the  love  of  God,  and  not  for  the  love 
of  my  heart,  drink,  drink  of  wine,  drink  to  the  point 
when  I  can  doubt   that  it   is   Thou. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS   TEXT  389 


441. 

A  Sheikh  said  to  a  prostitute:  You  are  in  wine. 
Each  instant  you  are  taken  in  the  toils  of  law.  She 
answered  him:  O  Sheikh,  I  am  all  that  you  say;  but 
are  you  what  you  seem   to  be  ? 


442. 

[I  have  already  said]  the  entire  world,  like  a  bowl, 
was  rolling-  in  a  hollow  which,  when  I  slept  dead  drunk, 
I  noticed  no  more  than  if  I  saw  a  grain  of  barley  rolling 
along.  Yesterday,  at  evening,  I  put  myself  in  pawn  at 
the  tavern  for  a  cup  of  wine.  The  wine  merchant  never 
ceased  to  say:      O  excellent  security  that  here  I  hold. 


443- 

Sometimes  Thou  art  concealed,  showing  Thyself  to 
none;  sometimes  Thou  revealest  Thyself  in  all  things 
created.  It  is  for  Thyself,  without  doubt,  and  for  Thy 
pleasure  that  Thou  hast  produced  these  marvellous  effects, 
for  Thou  art  at  once  the  maker  of  the  spectacle  we  see 
and  Thine  own  beholder. 


444- 


Shoiild  you  come  to  people  the  whole  earth,  that  action 
would  not  make  a  saddened  soul  rejoice.  It  would  be 
more  to  thy  advantage  to  enslave  a  free  man,  through 
thy  gentleness,  than  to  give  freedom  to  a  thousand  slaves. 


390  QUATRAINS    OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


445- 

They  tell  you  not  to  drink,  that  otherwise  you  shall 
become  a  prey  to  torment,  and  that  in  the  day  of 
reckoning  you  will  burn  as  fire.  That  may  be,  but  the 
day  in  which  wine  makes  you  joyous  is  more  precious 
than  the  goods  of  this  world  and  those  of  the  next. 


446. 

If  your  own  satisfaction  consists  in  casting  grief  into  a 
heart  free  from  all  care,  you  could,  friend,  make  mourn- 
ing with  your  wisdom  during  your  whole  life.  Go,  be 
unhappy,  then,  for  you  are  a  person  strangely  ignorant. 


447- 

Each  time  you  can  procure  two  mens  of  wine,  drink 
them,  in  every  circumstance,  in  all  society  wherever  you 
may  be;  for  he  who  does  is  freed  from  scornful  looks 
or  gestures  of  disdain. 


448. 

With  a  loaf  of  wheaten  bread,  two  vicns  of  wine  and 
meat  in  plenty,  and  seated  in  some  desert  spot  with 
some  young  beauty  decked  with  cheeks  tinted  with  the 
tulip's  blush,  man  hath  a  joy  not  given  to  any  Sultan  to 
procure. 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   NICOLAS   TEXT  391 


449- 

If  in  a  city  you  acquire  renown,  you  are  thought  to 
be  the  most  wicked  of  men;  if  you  retire  into  a  corner, 
they  regard  you  as  a  conspirator.  What  then  is  best, 
were  you  Elias  or  Saint  Jude,  is  to  live  in  the  way  of 
knowing  none,  and  being  known  by  none. 


450- 

If  1  were  free  and  were  allowed  to  use  my  will,  if  I 
were  free  from  the  torments  of  destiny  and  tinembar- 
rassed  by  any  sentiment  of  the  good  and  bad  in  this 
world  where  disorder  resides,  oh!  I  would  prefer  not 
to  have  lived  here,  not  to  have  existed,  than  to  be 
forced  to  go  away! 


451- 

Drink  wine,  my  friend,  for  see  it  makes  the  perspira- 
tion flow  upon  the  cheeks  of  the  beauties  of  Rhei,  the 
most  beautiful  creatures  in  the  world!  Oh!  how  long 
shall  I  repeat  it  to  you  ?  Yes,  I  have  broken  the 
bonds  of  all  my  vows.  Is  it  not  better  to  break  the 
bonds  of  a  thousand  vows  than  to  break  a  pitcher  of 
wine  ? 


452- 

We  have  some  wine,  O  cupbearer!  Let  us  rejoice  in 
the  presence  of  the  well-beloved  [the  Divinity]  and  in 
the  noise  of  the  morning.  Expect  not  on  our  part  the 
renunciation  of  Nessouh,  O  cupbearer!  How  long  shall 
I  speak  to  you  of  the  story  of  Noe,  O  cupbearer  ? 
Bring,  bring  me  happily  the  repose  of  my  soul  [the 
v/ine],  O  cupbearer! 


392  QUATRAINS   OF    OMAR   KHAYYAM 


453- 

I  see  neither  the  means  of  joining  myself  to  Thee, 
nor  the  possibility  of  living  for  the  space  of  a  breath 
separated  from  Thee.  I  have  not  the  courage  to  drive 
out  the  torments  I  endure.  Oh!  how  difficult  my  plight, 
how  strange  my  grief,  how  exquisite  my  pain! 


454- 

Now  is  the  time  to  drink  the  morning  wine;  the  noise 
makes  itself  heard,  O  cupbearer!  Now  we  are  ready,  O 
cupbearer!  here  is  the  wine,  behold  the  tavern.  Could  a 
moment  like  this  be  for  prayer?  Silence,  O  cupbearer! 
Leave  thy  discourse  upon  tradition  and  upon  devotion; 
drink,  O  cupbearer! 


455- 

Here  is  the  noise  of  the  morning,  O  idol,  whose  coming 
brings  happiness!  Chant  the  refrain  and  bring  the  wine; 
for  [you  know  it],  the  constant  sequence  of  these  months 
of  Tir  and  Di  have  overturned  upon  the  earth  a  thousand 
potentates  like  Djem,  a  htmdred  thousand  like  to  Kai. 


456. 

Guard  thyself  from  being  coarse  in  the  eyes  of  all 
drinkers;  guard  thyself  from  acquiring  a  bad  reputation 
before  the  sages,  and  drink  wine;  for,  whether  you  drink 
or  not,  if  you  belong  to  the  fire  of  Hell,  you  would  not 
know  how  to  enter  Paradise. 


TRANSLATION    OF    THE    NICOLAS   TEXT  393 


457. 

I  wish  that  God  would  reconstruct  the  world,  I  wish 
that  He  would  actually  reconstruct  it  and  that  I  might  see 
Him  at  the  work.  I  wish  that  He  would  blot  my  name 
from  the  register  of  life,  or  that  out  of  His  mysterious 
treasure.   He  would  swell  the  joys  of  my  existence. 


458. 

O  God!  open  to  me  the  door  of  Thy  benefits.  Make 
me  come  to  my  fortune  finally,  that  I  may  not  be  be- 
holden to  Thy  creatures.  Oh !  render  me  drunk  with 
wine,  to  the  point  where,  freed  from  all  knowledge, 
the  torments  of  my  head  may  disappear. 


459- 

O  thou  who  hast  been  burned  and  burned  again,  and 
now  deservest  life  anew !  thou  who  art  worthy  only  of  add- 
ing fuel  to  the  fire  of  Hell!  how  long  wilt  thou  pray  the 
Divinity  to  pardon  Omar  ?  What  relation  exists  between 
thee  and  God  ?  What  audacity  drives  thee  to  ask  Him  to 
exercise  His  pity  ? 


460. 

As  for  me,  without  limpid  wine  I  cannot  live ;  my  body 
is  a  burden  which  I  cannot  carry  without  drinking  of  the 
juice  of  the  vine.  Oh!  might  I  be  the  slave  of  that 
delicious  moment  when  the  cupbearer  said  to  me:  An- 
other cup!    and  that  I  had  no  longer  strength  to  take  it! 


394  QUATRAINS   OF   OMAR   KHAYYAM 


461. 

There  remains  to  me  still  a  breath  of  life,  thanks  to 
the  care  of  the  cupbearer.  But  discord  reigns  still  among 
men.  I  know  that  there  only  remains  to  me  about  a  men 
of  wine  from  last  evening;  but  I  am  ignorant  of  the 
space  of  time  that  is  still  left  me  to  live. 


462. 

Take  a  man  who  possesses  bread  sufficient  to  live  upon 
for  two  days,  who  can  draw  a  drop  of  fresh  water  into 
a  cracked  pitcher,  why  should  such  a  man  be  commanded 
by  another  who  is  of  no  more  worth,  or  why  should  he 
serve  one  who  should  be  his  equal  ? 


463- 

Since  the  day  when  Venus  and  the  moon  appeare  "  in 
the  sky,  no  one  has  seen  anything  here  below  preferable 
to  ruby  wine.  I  am  truly  astonished  at  the  wine- 
merchants,  for  how  can  they  buy  anything  superior  to 
that  which  they  sell  ? 


464. 

For  those  endowed  with  knowledge  and  virtue,  who 
through  their  wisdom  have  become  as  torches  to  their 
disciples,  even  those  have  not  progressed  beyond  this 
night  profound.  They  have  left  some  fables  and  returned 
to  death's  long  sleep. 


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